Serpentine
by ereinhart
Summary: Problems arise at the Dursley's when Harry falls down the stairs only to wake up at Hogwarts... fifty years in the past. SLASH. TRHP. Important note included, chapter 13.
1. The Time Turner

**_Chapter One  
_The Time Turner**

It had been a tiresome week, his last at Privet Drive under the dubious care of the Dursleys. Not wanting any trouble; he had kept mostly to his room, with nothing but depressing thoughts to keep him company, nightmares plaguing his sleep, and the threat of attack looming overhead.

Nightmares were easy to deal with, at least when they weren't visions of the Dark Lord. They still kept him up at nights, but no longer with undue pain. The nightmares that did keep him up were always the ones about his parents', Sirius', and recently- the headmaster's- death.

He could recall the expression on his godfather's face as he fell, Bellatrix Lestrange's cruel laughter as she mocked him. The scene played over and over again the moment he closed his eyes, each time with a different outcome. Until he could no longer endure the mere thought of going to sleep and walked about like some undead creature and even the Dursleys had begun to give him concerned glances.

Bitter thoughts plagued him as he went about readying himself. He was due to be picked up soon, could no longer stay at Privet Drive once the wards fell. Also, the horcruxes weren't going to find themselves, after all, though the thought of the task ahead brought a queasy feeling to his stomach.

Harry sat down on his mattress, the springs squeaking as he did. He rubbed the bridge of his nose absentmindedly, eyes straying to the two artifacts he'd kept out. Sirius' mirror and Hermione's time turner. The time turner had been a surprise. McGonagall had slipped it to him at the end of fifth year.

"_I thought you might like to keep this as a reminder,"_ she'd said.

He'd thought about using it and had attempted to more than once. But the time turner did not work and he would not question her about it. Admittedly ashamed to let her know he'd tried at all.

The mirror should have been his connection to Sirius and his own stupidity had disallowed him from using it. How different would things have been if he had known?

He shook his head. Picking up the time turner, he placed it about his neck. Making sure it was neatly tucked under his shirt. The mirror was wrapped up in paper and placed in the small travel bag he'd bought for the occasion. The rest of his belongings, at least the ones he cared enough to pack away, had been stuffed into his trunk.

He could hear his relatives scurrying about. They, too, were leaving Privet Drive for a safer place. It was likely the last time they'd ever see each other and he wondered if he should say something. _Anything_. Though he couldn't think of anything to say and many things to ask. _Demand_.

Harry took a deep breath, gathering his courage as though he were about to face some ferocious beast - which was probably the case - and ventured outside into the hallway. Dudley was walking up the stairs, a frown upon his face. He paused momentarily upon seeing Harry, then resumed down the hallway after an barely noticeable nod of his head.

There were muffled voices from downstairs and Harry had to take another deep breath. Just as he was about to step on the top step, a heavy weight collided with his back. The impact sent him head first down the stairs and he instinctively curled his body as he crashed against the wall. His vision going dark as he lost consciousness.

* * *

He woke to the sound of people speaking in rather loud _whispers_. He didn't recognize any of the voices, but he could tell without opening his eyes that he was at the Hogwarts infirmary. Having spent much of his school time in the infirmary, he could recognize the smell of the room and the feel of the bed.

"You can open your eyes," someone to his right spoke. A warm hand ruffled his hair. "They're forbidden from coming in here. They're just curious about the boy who fell from the sky."

Harry's eyes shot open, he stared incredulously at the red head sitting at his side. If he didn't know better, he'd say the boy was one of the Weasley twins. Bright blueish purple eyes sparkled at him, amused.

"Can't say I blame them."

"Who- what…?" Harry tried to sit up, yelping as pain rippled down his back and throughout his body.

"Don't move now," the boy scolded gently, pushing him back down. He moved to grab a vial of liquid on the bedside table. "Here, drink this. It's a potion for the pain."

Harry didn't even bother arguing, swallowing the liquid down in one gulp and settling back, the pain in his back easing as he did. He allowed the boy to pamper him, feeling at ease in his presence. "Who are you?"

"Oh," the boy smiled sheepishly, moving back to his seat. "Sorry, Leoned Potter."

Beginning to feel drowsy, Harry didn't even think to refrain from responding. "I'm Harry… Harry Potter."

Leoned paused at rearranging the covers, his expression blank. He quickly recovered and smiled widely. "That would explain this." He reached into his pocket and drew out a long chain. The time turner. "Unfortunately, it seems to have broken in the fall. The hourglass seems to have gone missing as well." He placed the time turner on the bedside table. "Now. You don't have to worry about anyone hearing us. These stations are silenced for patient confidentiality." He held up a hand as he stood, an annoyed expression on his face, vanishing as he drew aside the curtain. "Shouldn't you all be heading to class?" There was mumbling and the scuffling of feet. "I said get lost!"

The yelling startled Harry out of his drowsiness and he hid halfway under his covers, staring wide-eyed at the curtains.

"Ten points from Gryffindor!" Leoned was shouting. "Ten points from Slytherin! Erian, would you like to me take ten from Hufflepuff as well? Don't think I haven't noticed you two, Black!" The sound of running feet was all Harry heard before Leoned finally joined him again. Harry was still cowering under his blanket. "Sorry about that. They can get overly curious, even if most of them are not Gryffindors… As I was saying. You fell from the sky, landed on my brother. Quite a shock, really, as we were having Quidditch practice at the time. My brother's lying on the bed next to us. He broke your fall."

"Should I thank him?" Harry asked stupidly.

Leoned blinked, then laughed. "Maybe," he shook his head, beaming. "So, did you come from the past or the future?"

Harry gazed at him drowsily. "Err. Future?"

"It's January, 1943 right now," Leoned said.

"What!" Harry shrieked. Leoned ogled at him. "That's more than fifty years before my time! That- that… that means…" He didn't know what exactly that meant, and his drowsiness certainly wasn't helping matters, so he settled down with a groan.

"All right then," Leoned settled back down slowly. "Harry Potter. Fifty years from the future." He cast a long look around, then... "Who are your grandparents?"

Harry stopped rubbing at his eyes to stare blearily at him. "Oh, I don't… really know. I've never met them."

Leoned pouted. "Oh well. I didn't think-"

"Leo?" a throaty voice called. Leoned drew back the curtains behind him. "Are you there?"

"Yes," Leoned smiled, beaming at Harry. "Vince, I'd like you to meet Harry Potter. Harry, my brother Vincent."

The two stared a each other. Vincent sat up slowly his eyes moving from Leo to Harry and back again. "He looks like you, Leo. Except for the eyes and the hair."

"He has your hair," Leo commented, sharing a look with his brother.

"You don't look anything alike," said Harry, feeling strange under their scrutiny and knowing he was witnessing something important.

"Half-brothers," was all Vincent said. He stood, groaning and cracking his neck. Both Harry and Leo twitched at the sound. He moved to sit at the foot of Harry's bed, looking him over. "This is brilliant."

"Potter!" an enraged voice ruined the peaceful moment. The curtain was thrown back and Harry sank down under his blankets in absolute horror.

"You can't just come tearing in here!" Leo cried indignantly.

"Why did you take ten points from Slytherin!"

Vincent stood, an angry flush spreading up his neck. "Riddle, stop screaming. This is an infirmary."

"I have a patient here," Leo sulked.

Tom Riddle huffed, eyeing the lump on the bed in curiosity. A mop of raven hair peaked out from under the blanket, followed by a pair of shocked emerald eyes.

"All right there, Harry?" Vincent asked.

Harry continued to stare at Tom in shock. While Tom, himself, was staring at him with an unreadable expression on his face, a light pink blush staining his cheeks.

"Tom," Leo started, eyes jumping from one boy to the other. "I'd like you to meet Harry Potter. Harry, Tom Riddle. He's a prefect."

The boy snapped out of his stupor to glare at Leoned. "Ten points!"

"Would you like me to make it twenty?" Vincent growled.

Tom sneered, sending one last look at Harry, he turned and fled the infirmary. Leaving the three Potters staring at one another in confusion.

"He usually argues more," Vincent said, shocked. "I'm going back to class, maybe I can catch the last few minutes." He grabbed Leo about the neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "See you later, Harry."

Harry eyed Leoned warily as the boy fidgeted uncomfortably under his scrutiny. "So… Feeling sleepy at all? Any pain? Would you like to rest….? A tour? Chocolate?"

"I feel great," Harry murmured, still staring at Leo. His drowsiness had all but fled upon Tom Riddle's sudden appearance. Suddenly coming to a realization, he touched his eyes. "Where are my glasses?"

Leo paused. "Glasses? You weren't wearing any."

"But… I can see," Harry waved his hands before his eyes. He stopped once he noticed Leo staring at him as though he was out of his mind. "Tour, you said?"

Leo grinned. "Let's go, then!"

* * *

Harry was bored and people kept touching him. Why were they touching him? He cringed as another girl ruffled his hair.

"Oh, he's so cute!"

"How adorable!"

"He's got the most beautiful eyes!"

Leoned was cringing in horror as girls pushed and pulled at him from every side, everyone of them trying to get to Harry. The two of them had only managed to walk a few steps from the infirmary before they had been surrounded by a mob of girls. All wanting to meet the _new student_, though how they had discovered Harry's existence was beyond Leoned. He held Harry closer to himself, almost succeeding in suffocating the poor boy.

"Move aside, you imbeciles!" someone roared.

Leoned sighed in relief, taking the momentary cease of fire to escape, dragging Harry along. He straightened his clothes self-consciously, while Harry stared at the tall girl standing before him, never having felt so short. "Thank you, Raven!"

"The headmaster has requested our presence," said Raven. "Along with…" she waved her hand at Harry.

"Harry," Leoned supplied for her, rolling his eyes.

The headmaster's office was located on the third floor, as expected. Harry slowed down as he caught sight of Vincent, Tom Riddle, and a pretty brunette waiting for them with Albus Dumbledore.

Harry eyed everyone warily, hiding half-way behind Leoned. Dumbledore smiled at him warmly. "I see you are up and about. Mister…"

"Harry Potter," he replied without hesitance. He had already revealed his name to Leoned without thinking, it would have been stupid to try and change it now. Especially after the boy had already introduced him as Harry Potter to both Vincent and Tom Riddle.

"The headmaster is waiting," Dumbledore said, smiling in obvious amusement. He led the way up to the headmaster's office and Harry continued to cling to Leo's arm as they gathered about the room.

Headmaster Dippet was an old, balding man. His eyes drowsy as he looked about at them, a confused expression on his face as though he didn't know why they were bothering him. He stood. "Why are you here again?"

The others shifted uncomfortably, rolling their eyes, even as Harry gaped at the man. Dumbledore coughed to hide his chuckles. "About the matter with the boy, headmaster."

"Oh, yes! Yes!" The headmaster cried, smiling widely. He looked around at them all. "Which one is it again?"

Leoned opened his mouth but was interrupted by pounding on the door. Dumbledore opened the door and let the rest of the group stumble into the room.

"Oh _my_," Dippet paused, eyes wide. "How many are involved in this?"

"Sorry, headmaster," one of the boys mumbled.

"I didn't think there were quite so many of you," the headmaster said, looking slightly put out.

"It was during our Quidditch practice, sir," Vincent explained.

"Well, no matter," Dippet clapped his hands. "There's a boy involved..."

Leoned pushed Harry forward. "Harry Potter, headmaster. He fell from the sky, remember?"

"Yes, of course I remember!" The headmaster cried indignantly, startling Harry back a step. "All right, son... Harry Potter, you said?"

Dumbledore coughed again and Harry couldn't stop himself from throwing him a glare, which only seemed to amuse him more. "Yes, headmaster. Mister Potter here is the one who fell from the sky and landed on Vincent Potter."

"Well, Mister Potter," the headmaster continued as though Dumbledore had not just spoken. "Since it was Mister Black who discovered the Time Turner on yourself and proceeded to share that information with everyone present-"

"I said I was sorry!" a spiky haired teen cried from the corner.

The headmaster leveled a stare at him. "As I was saying..." He trailed off uncertainly.

Leoned rubbed his forehead tiredly. "About the Time Turner, sir."

"Oh, yes! We have come to the conclusion that you are, indeed, a time traveler!"

There was a collective groan and Harry had the sudden urge to hit his head against the nearest wall or start giggling hysterically. "I believe that's the case, sir," Harry said, after a while when the headmaster made no move to continue. "From the future."

"From the future, oh _my_," the headmaster cried. "Well, this will have to be reported to the Ministry, of course. But I'm sure they won't mind that you attend classes here, while they are attempting to find a way to send you home. How old are you child?"

"Sixteen."

"So sixth year."

Harry refrained from commenting that he'd already been through sixth year and he didn't want a repeat of it.

"For now, Mister Potter is an exchange student, cousin to ones Vincent and Leoned Potter. You shall all treat him with respect and make him feel at home. If any of this is uttered to someone who was not present at the time of the incident, I shall know. Consequences shall not be pretty. I'll leave it up to you, Mister Potter," he indicated Vincent, "to decide where he will stay. Now, introduce yourselves and off you go."

There was a long awkward silence as they all stared at one another. Harry looked about in expectation, waiting for someone to start the introductions.

"Well," Vincent broke the silence, a pinched look on his face. He pointed to each of the students and gave off their names. "Romulus Lupin." Harry gazed at the tall brunette in curiosity. He could see a resemblance to Remus Lupin, though this Lupin wore expensive clothing and carried himself with an air of confidence. "Runako Black." The boy was still hiding in the corner, his face set in a pout even as he gave a little wave. Harry couldn't remember his name on the Black family tapestry and he wondered if he was one of those blasted off. "Arnold Weasley." Yet again, Harry was surprised. This Weasley was wealthy, he noticed, his clothing were pristine in appearance. "You've met Tom Riddle."

Harry gazed at the future Dark Lord in wonder. The boy twitched uncomfortably under the intensity of his gaze.

"If you're quite done gawking at each other," Vincent said blankly, drawing a few sniggers from the others. "Those two attached at the hip are Rodolphus Lestrange and Erian Lang."

Harry cocked an eyebrow at the two. This Lestrange was obviously one of the four wizards who had tortured Neville's parents. Yet standing beside the pretty brunette, he looked like any normal boy. Erian was holding the boy's hand and leaning against his arm, while Rodolphus blushed lightly.

_Strange_, was all Harry could think.

"This here is Rudo Malfoy," Vincent was saying, pointing to the blonde next to him. The blonde smiled crookedly in his direction, though he seemed a little uninterested in the proceedings. "And Raven Lang."

Raven was the only female present in the room, yet she somehow managed to look as though she belonged. To Harry she seemed twice as intimidating as Tom Riddle, with her long dark hair and bottomless eyes. Erian and Raven might have shared a last name, but they looked absolutely nothing alike.

"Professor," Erian spoke suddenly, his voice soft and sweet as honey. Harry found himself blinking at him in shock. If not for the Hufflepuff uniform and no one thinking there was anything odd, he would have been suspicious as to the tone the boy was using. But apparently it was his normal voice. "If you don't mind me asking, which house will Harry be in?"

"Maybe we should sort him, headmaster," suggested Dumbledore, already holding the Sorting Hat. Harry cocked an eyebrow, Dumbledore would never change. Senile old man that he was.

"Good idea!" Dippet motioned for Harry to sit, which he did with a long suffering sigh and a push from Leoned. He cleared his mind as the hat was placed on his head.

"_Hmm_…" the hat murmured. "_What do we have here? A time traveler? How interesting. Let's see what we can find. I see courage, plenty of it. A thirst for knowledge, to know the truth. Your ambitions are strong, as well. Yet you remain faithful and loyal to your friends. You would do so well in any house. In all of them, I dare say. How unusual. I don't believe I've ever had this problem before." _The hat was quiet for a second, during which Harry began to fret internally. This was _so _embarrassing. _"Perhaps if the Founders had regaled me with... but no..._" Harry felt his eye beginning to twitch. _"Hold on, young one. No need to be impatient. Do forgive me for this, but I CANNOT DECIDE!"  
_

Harry let out a yelp as a shock ran through his mind. He fell to the floor as the hat was torn off his head, someone was holding him tenderly.

"I am so sorry, my boy," the headmaster was saying. "The hat has never done that before. Since it cannot decide where to put you, we shall not try again."

"You will stay with Vincent and Leoned for now," Dumbledore added, softly patting his head. "In the Head Boy quarters. We shall see later if we can get you put in with the the sixth years in one of the houses, or if we will need to clean out another room. We'll also talk more later, go on down to the Great Hall!"

Vincent almost snapped at him for touching Harry's head when it was obvious he was in pain. He refrained as he and Leo helped the boy to stand and led him down to the Great Hall, followed by the others.

Harry didn't argue, truthfully he could hardly walk without Vincent's support, there was a ringing in his ears that made his head throb in pain and his eyes squint. He felt eyes on the back of his head and did not have to look to know who it was. There was a pleasant tingle spreading around his scar and he resisted the urge to rub at it lest someone see.


	2. The Sharing of Harry Potter

**_Chapter Two _**  
**The Sharing of Harry Potter**

Harry found himself seated at the Gryffindor table, holding himself back from simply shoveling food into his mouth. Leoned and Vincent sat on each side of him, fending off unwanted questions and attention. For unknown reasons, at least to Harry, the female population seemed to think he was the greatest thing they'd ever seen at Hogwarts, and spent most of their time trying to gain his attention.

Leoned couldn't stop beaming at the small boy next to him. "I asked Erian to make you a schedule. He'll divide classes up fairly between us."

Harry scowled, this seemed to cause much ruckus among the girls and confusion for everyone else. Harry rubbed his forehead as he felt the beginnings of a headache. Unused to the type of attention he was getting, Harry slouched in his seat, attempting to ignore all the starry-eyed gazes fixed upon him.

"Do you play Quidditch?" asked Runako interestedly, a gleam in his eyes.

"He couldn't play either way," Vincent interrupted before Harry could answer. "It'd be unfair, due to Harry not having a house."

"Bollocks!" Runako muttered, viciously stabbing his plate. "But do you?"

Harry nodded. "Seeker."

Curious, Romulus asked. "What house were you in?"

"Gryffindor," said Harry after a while, biting the inside of his cheek.

"Why didn't the hat place you in Gryffindor now?" demanded Runako. "Do the requirements change or something?"

Harry sighed heavily, placing his fork down. He felt no need to lie. He didn't really know these people and they certainly didn't know him. "The hat placed me in Gryffindor because I asked it to. It originally planned to put me in Slytherin."

Vincent reached over and closed Leo's gaping mouth with an audible click. "That's... quite a shock. Our family has always been in Gryffindor. Err... except for Rayn."

"Rayn's not a Potter," explained Vincent at Harry's confused expression. "He's Leo's fourteen year old brother, goes to some private academy in France."

Runako was smiling oddly. "Rayn."

Leo rolled his eyes, further explaining. "Rune is sweet on Rayn."

"So is Malfoy," Romulus snorted.

Runako snapped out of his daze to snap back at the brunette and the two began a lively argument. Harry picked up his fork and continued eating, ignoring the fight. A sudden presence at his back startled him and he looked up as a paper was placed on the table before him. Erian squeezed in next to him beside Vincent, pushing the older boy out of his way, and ignoring said boy's indignant expression.

"I paired you up with someone for each class. I thought it would be easier for you to be paired up with someone good at that particular subject." He pointed to the schedule as he explained. "You have Charms with Leo, Potions with Tom." Harry dropped his fork as his eyes sought out said boy, who was then engrossed in a large book at the Slytherin table. "There's Arithmancy with Raven, Transfiguration with me. Defense with Vincent and Care of Magical Creatures with Romulus... and Runako."

Runako scowled at being the after-thought.

"I've never taken Arithmancy," Harry murmured petulantly, finding himself unable to argue with the brightly smiling boy.

"It's the only class Raven is willing to help you with," Erian shrugged hopelessly. "I hope you don't mind Transfiguration with the fifth years. Defense Against the Dark Arts is a _fairly_ new class, so it shouldn't be too hard, even if it is with the seventh years."

Vincent cleared his throat and Erian faced him. "So... did you ask Riddle if he'd _help_ Harry in Potions?"

The Hufflepuff cringed, his eyes darted to the Slytherin table and his smile dimmed. "I was going to have Rodolphus do it."

"I'll ask him," Harry volunteered, snatching his schedule as he stood. Hurrying across the hall before anyone could stop him or before he could change his mind. He hesitated a few feet away from the Slytherin table, unsure of what to do.

Rudo saw him and smiled, sliding down to make room for him. "Sit down, Harry!" Tom glanced up and back down quickly, the conversation slowly died as Harry took a seat beside the Malfoy heir. The Slytherins sized him up, making him feel uncomfortable and out of place. Rudo slowly glanced about, his eyes steely and the students quickly returned to previous activities. "What brings you to our side? Are you sick of them already?"

"No," Harry replied honestly, his lips quirking. "Erian made a schedule for me. I'm supposed to ask Tom if he'll help me in Potions."

Though he had been listening in on the conversation, Tom was still startled by the use of his first name. "What...?"

Harry ignored him, already showing Rudo the schedule he'd been given. Rudo was pouting at the fact that they hadn't paired Harry with him for any classes. Both of them, the entire student body in fact, jumped as Tom slammed his book on the table. Harry shrank back, startled, as the prefect tore the schedule away from them.

"What the bloody hell is this?" Tom hissed angrily. He stood abruptly, making his way to where Erian was still seating at the Gryffindor table. Rodolphus, who had been seating next to Tom in silence, suddenly sat up in alarm. Dark eyes narrowed and flashing as Tom began to rant and rave at Erian.

A couple of teachers had made their way to the Gryffindor table and were attempting to calm the angry Slytherin. Harry merely cocked an eyebrow at the display, his eyes straying to where the headmaster and Dumbledore sat, both ignoring the episode. Though in the headmaster's case, he was busily eating a piece of cake and happily nodding his head from side to side. Harry doubted he'd notice if his robes were on fire. Taking a long look about the Great Hall, Harry propped his chin on his hand, elbow on the table as he waited for the Slytherin to return. Beside him, Rudo was talking to Rudolphus as though nothing out of the ordinary was happening while the other Slytherins were looking on in mild amusement or shock. Rudolphus was fidgeting in his seat, his dark eyes trained upon Erian's clueless form.

It was a finally calm Tom Riddle who rejoined them at the Slytherin table, looking slightly sheepish and with a light blush staining his cheeks. Before the Slytherin could speak however, Harry had reached forward to tear his schedule away from him, turning pleading eyes on Rudo. "Will you help me in Potions?"

Rudo hesitated, though he was unable to resist the pleading look. He nodded, ignoring the shocked look on Tom's face as Harry thanked him and returned to the Gryffindor table.

"Nice, Riddle," Rudo chided. "Real nice."

Tom continued to gape at Harry's empty seat, hand still outstretched. Rudolphus had stopped fidgeting and was alternating between glaring at Tom and gazing at Erian in concern.

At the Gryffindor table, Harry was concentrating on scratching Tom's name off his schedule. Making sure he could no longer tell what it said, he then wrote 'Rudo Malfoy' above it. Leo watched the process with interest, leaning his chin on his hand.

"Are you quite done?" he finally asked.

"Yes, I think so," Harry eyed his schedule with some sense of pride. He briefly turned his attention to the Slytherin table, where he could tell Rudo was still scolding the pissed off looking Tom. While Rodolphus just glared at both of them murderously. Harry felt his lips twitch and quickly masked it by turning to smile at Leo. "I will be staying with you for now, then?"

"Until we get everything figured out, yes," said Leo, suspiciously.

"Shall we go?" wondered Harry, his mood considerably lifted.

They left Romulus and Runako still eating, making their way down the empty halls towards the Head Boy quarters. Harry did not want to think about the reason Leo was staying in the Head Boy quarters with Vincent. They were brothers, after all.

Harry spared Leo a speculative glance and couldn't help but think he didn't look like a Potter. Aside from his blue eyes, he didn't resemble Vincent at all. It was true, though, that he resembled Harry and if Harry ever colored his hair red, he'd probably look like Leo's twin. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his thoughts.

"Alright there?" Leo asked softly, reaching over and running a hand through Harry's unruly hair. Or at least he attempted to. "Bloody hell. We need to brush your hair!"

Harry laughed at his horrified expression, his mood lifting. They were silent the rest of the way, except for Leo's occasional mumble or Harry's chuckling.

"And this is it," Leo motioned to the simple portrait before them. A lion sunbathing, as far as Harry could see, that was it. He squinted at the portrait, the lion lifted his mane, sending him what Harry supposed was an annoyed look. "He sleeps most of the time. We just call him The Lion. Capital T, capital L."

"Very creative," said Harry.

"Oh, hush you," Leo swiped him across the shoulder. "The password is 'tempus fugit'."

"What does it mean?" Harry asked as they entered the room.

"Time flies," replied Leo. "Fitting, don't you think?"

The room was about the size of a common room, nicely furnished as well. A fire had already been started and the room was nice and warm. Leo led Harry into an adjacent room.

"Merlin..." Harry gaped at the massive bed covering about three-fourths of the room. "That's huge!"

"It's great, though," Leo laughed. "There's enough room to fit all three of us and still have room left!"

"All three of us...?"

Leo shot him an unfathomable look. "Is that a problem?"

Harry ogled at him before shaking his head quickly. "Not at all. Though... I don't have anything to sleep in."

The taller boy beamed. "You can borrow one of my pyjamas! We're going to have to get you some things."

"Yeah," Harry mumbled. "I don't even have a wand."

"Here," Leo tossed Harry a pair of pants and a button-up shirt. "Make yourself at home while I go talk to the headmaster."

Harry threw himself on the bed, giggling when he bounced. He relaxed back against the sheets, snuggling as deeply as he could. He cleared his mind, allowing the peace and quiet to lull him into a half-sleep. He soon lost his battle against sleep and found himself drifting off into unconsciousness.

* * *

"Come on, lazy bones! Wakey wakey!" someone was poking him on the sides. He squirmed away, burrowing into the blankets. "How did you end up upside-down anyway?"

"Come on, baby Potter," another voice said, this one closer. "There are a lot of things to do today."

Harry let out a disgruntled sound and turned away, curling in on himself.

"Aww, he's like a little kitty cat!" the poking resumed and Harry whined in protest.

"Poke him one more time, Runako, and you'll lose that finger," Vincent growled. He moved towards the bed, gazing down at Harry fondly before picking him up with practiced ease.

Harry blinked warily, rubbing his eyes. He looked about in half-asleep wonder as Vincent carried him to the bathroom. Leo was moving about the large room, gathering objects here and there. Harry blinked himself fully awake and self-consciously squirmed out of Vincent's hold.

"Firstly, your hair," said Leo, he motioned for Harry to sit on a stool. Harry stared at him in disbelief. "We can't have you looking like some uncouth peasant. Now, sit!"

Harry shuffled forward and sat on the stool awkwardly, shooting Vincent a sleepy glare through the mirror. Vincent chuckled at the adorableness of the scene.

"We'll be downstairs in the Great Hall, having breakfast," he said.

Leo waved at him absentmindedly, eying Harry's mop of hair as though it was going to eat him. Vincent chuckled once again and left them to their own devices. Runako and Romulus accompanied him to the Great Hall, where the early rush of students were eating.

"Where's the little Potter?" Rudo asked, half-an-hour later, as he plopped down next to an irritated Runako.

"Getting a makeover," Romulus replied. "Or something Leo-related anyway."

"Those are always nice ," Rudo grinned wickedly. He shot a disgruntled look at Runako when the boy made a mocking noise.

"We'll be missing morning classes," said Vincent suddenly. "So you'll get him for Potions after lunch, Rudo."

Rudo did a little happy dance on his seat, earning him several strange looks.

"There will be no questions about the future," Vincent warned. "And keep your hands to yourself."

"Yes, yes," Rudo waved away his concern. "No need to worry. I only belong to Rayn."

Runako's eye twitched.

"Anyway, he's already taken, isn't he?" continued Rudo, shooting Runako an amused look.

Vincent choked and began coughing, spraying whatever he had been chewing on across the table, much to the students' amusement. Romulus glowered as he cleaned away the chunks from his clothes with a wave of his wand. "What?" Vincent cried after taking a big gulp of water and getting his breath back.

The blonde attempted to look innocent. "What?"

Runako rolled his eyes, "So did Riddle say anything?"

Rudo leaned closer after glaring around at the other students, who took the hint and departed quickly, the others followed his example. "Nope," Rudo shook his head. "He's not speaking to me and Rodolphus isn't speaking to him, either. Though Helga did say he had a great deal to say on the matter. She couldn't tell me much though, since she's taught herself to ignore him when he gets going. Bloody women."

Romulus grumbled, "Why would he be angry though? I thought he didn't want to be stuck with Harry."

"Aw, but he's such an adorable little thing!" Rudo cooed almost mockingly. Vincent shot him an irritated look. "Oi. You get to be lucky and get the nice, cute grandson. You could at least share him."

Arnold Weasley suddenly sat down next to Rudo, almost sitting on the Slytherin himself. The group could only gawk at him in shock as the poor boy looked about ready to keel over; his red hair a mess, his clothes looked as though they'd been pulled at from several locations, and he had a horrified expression on his face.

"Did you get into a fight?" Runako asked surprised. "Someone must have seriously pissed you off." The red head was usually so mild mannered, the thought of him getting into a fight was absolutely ludicrous.

Arnold glared at him. "No. I almost got trampled by a lot of crazy chits," he grumbled, attempting to smooth down his hair and fix his clothes while they continued to stare at him expectantly. He rolled his eyes, clearing his throat as he leaned forward. "Just wait until you see what Leo did to Harry."

"Nothing bad, I hope?" Rudo demanded anxiously, already imagining different scenarios, each one worse than the one before.

"I didn't think so," Arnold shrugged, adjusting his clothing again and scowling when he found a tear. "Although Harry seemed to think otherwise. He even gave Peeves a scare with all his screaming. I'm surprised you didn't hear it from here."

"Bloody... hell..." Romulus choked on his pumpkin juice as he saw Leo walking down the aisle towards them. His clothes were in disarray but there was a triumphant look on his face as he dragged a very reluctant Harry Potter behind him. Students stopped to stare at the duo, mouths dropping open and eyes going wide.

The same brilliant emerald eyes stared back at them. But the transformation of his once unruly hair seemed to make a great impact. His face was no longer hid behind unruly strands of hair and his eyes stood out brightly. His hair was shorter, apparently tamed for now, and framed his elfin face. His raggedy clothes had been traded in for a pair of Leo's black uniform pants and he wore a white shirt underneath a sleeveless, black Hogwarts sweater with the Gryffindor insignia on the right. Though it wasn't a great change, the combination brought out Harry's obvious good looks and the students could now certainly see the similarities between the Potters. The chiseled looks of the Potters brought forth with a simple haircut.

A group of excited girls were following behind the duo, giggling and whispering to each other. They weren't the least upset when Leo growled at them to get lost and separated to join their friends happily.

"You look great, kiddo!" Rudo said happily. Harry blushed and smiled shyly. He awkwardly brushed his bangs to cover his scar.

"Perfect," Vincent agreed proudly.

Harry beamed, he had been dismayed that a simple haircut could change his appearance so much and had had the horrifying image of being the next Draco Malfoy. The thought had been most unwelcome and Leo was still confused by his reaction.

"Eat breakfast," Leo ordered. "Then we can go get your things."

Vincent stood. "I'll meet you two later, then. I'm going to hang out with my friends for a bit."

Runako stuck a tongue out at him as he left. "Well, fine then!"

Harry smiled, shaking his head as he did as Leo said, allowing the conversation to wash over him. He felt a pair of eyes on him and glanced up to meet Tom's gaze. The Slytherin was staring at him from across the hall, an unreadable expression on his face. He looked away when Harry caught him staring, a blush staining his cheeks.

Leo narrowed his eyes at the exchange, thoughtful. Harry returned his eyes to his plate, a confused expression on his face.

Was Tom Riddle interested in one Harry Potter?


	3. Diagon Alley

**_Chapter Three _**  
**Diagon Alley**

Diagon Alley looked exactly as it did in his own time, Harry realized in disappointment. Didn't the Wizarding World ever change?

"Let's grab your wand first," Leo said, already heading towards Ollivander's. He stopped to look back at him suddenly. "Unless you originally got yours somewhere else you'd prefer?"

"Ollivander's," replied Harry. "It should exist in this time."

"Pretty old wand," commented Vincent. "Waited a long time for you, didn't it?"

Harry threw him a startled look which he didn't notice, already walking after Leo. Harry frowned thoughtfully, something about that sentence had rubbed him the wrong way but he didn't know what or why. Shrugging and shaking himself from his stupor, he jogged after the two who had stopped to wait for him.

Stepping into Ollivander's was almost like stepping back to when he was eleven and had only just learned about the Wizarding World. Ollivander's was still the same dusty, cramped place Harry could vaguely recall and that was a comforting thought at least.

"Ah, Mister Potter, I've been expecting you."

For a moment Harry panicked, thinking he'd somehow traveled forward in time without meaning to and managed to take Vincent and Leo with him.

"Dumbledore called ahead," Vincent explained at Harry's frightened expression.

"Yes," Ollivander gazed at Harry with interest. Harry found himself wondering how old the man was if he still looked the same as he did in the future. "He told me quite a bit about you, Mister Potter. Can you remember your wand?"

"Holly, phoenix feather, eleven inches," replied Harry.

Ollivander paused, giving Harry a good long look. "Really?" He continued searching, mumbling to himself. "_Where did I put that...?_" He carefully shoved boxes out of his way as he searched, in the opposite section of where Harry remember the wand being in his own time. Leo let out a loud sigh and checked the time, pouting slightly much to Harry's confusion. Though Vincent looked happy, which was even more confusing.

Harry interrupted Ollivander's search with a hesitant, "Do you mind if I try something?"

The old wizard paused and regarded him wonderingly, as though he knew what it was Harry wanted to try. He nodded, smiling in amusement. Harry wondered whether to tell him to move out of the way or not, deciding not to in the end as his amusement was annoying.

"_Accio_ wand!" The man let out a startled sound as boxes upon boxes fell upon him as a box shot out from _right above _him and he was left blinking at Harry owlishly. Leo gasped, horrified, while Vincent guffawed and ruffled Harry's hair.

"Thank you , Mr. Ollivander," Harry grinned happily, waving his wand about in enjoyment.

"Indeed," Ollivander beamed, not the slightest upset that his wands were now all over the floor. "You have a very special bond with your wand, Mister Potter, if it was able to recognize you even across time."

Harry gazed at him questioningly as Leo payed for the wand, but the man just continued to smile mysteriously. Once outside, the three took time to recollect themselves and wonder where to go next. Leo and Vincent did most of the wondering while Harry examined his wand critically.

"Harry," Vincent began, interrupting his inspection. "I'm going to buy your books while Leo takes you to Madam Malkin's for your robes."

Harry furrowed his eyebrow in confusion at Vincent's almost _ relieved_ look, but allowed himself to be led away by an exuberant Leoned. Madam Malkin's was not as crowded as it was in the future, Harry noticed, but that was likely due to nobody needing school robes since school was already in session. The windows were not blocked by rows of robes, leaving him feeling very exposed when he was led onto a stand. A girl then proceeded to take his measurements, Madam Malkin was speaking to Leo nearby. The shopkeeper also looked as though she hadn't aged a day, which was terribly odd.

An hour later, Harry swore to never go shopping with Leo again. The red head had sat observing as Harry was made to model outfit after outfit. He felt as though his arms were going to fall off and he was practically limping about. It was no wonder Vincent had volunteered to buy his books and had yet to rejoin them. He now understood the relieved look on the older boy's face as he had taken off and Harry swore he'd get back at him for abandoning him with Leo.

"That should be about it," Leo finally said. Harry restrained himself from crying with joy and relief. "Let's go, Harry. Madam Malkin will take care of the rest."

Vincent was waiting outside for them, leaning casually against the wall. "You look dead on your feet, Harry."

Harry gazed at him blankly, eyeing his empty hands in confusion. "Where are my books?"

"I had them delivered to Hogwarts," Vincent replied, he knelt down in front of Harry suddenly, back towards him. "Need a ride?"

Grateful, Harry didn't think twice about refusing the offer. He draped himself across Vincent's back like a lifeless doll, letting out a relieved sigh. "Where are we going now?"

"We still need to get you a cauldron for Potions," Leo said, he was writing on a piece of paper. Harry didn't bother to check what it was, too tired to be even remotely curious or lift his head. "Wand. Books. Robes. Cauldron. Do you want a pet of some type? Owl... toad... cat?"

"Too complicated," Vincent said. Harry marveled at the fact that he was not even straining under his weight... did he really weigh next to nothing as he was often told? "Harry would have to leave it behind."

"Then that should be it."

"Of course, we could always watch it for him," continued Vincent, ignoring Leo who simply raised an eyebrow. "When Harry leaves. He could do with a companion to keep him company."

"And you've always wanted a pet," Leo said shrewdly.

"And I've always wanted a-" Vincent trailed off, glaring at Leo halfheartedly.

Harry laughed tiredly.

"We'll wait and see," conceded Leo. "Also, you know your _mother_ doesn't like animals." The last was said in bitterness, eyes rolling. "I couldn't take it either, you know how Rayn is."

"Bloody weird ," muttered Vincent to Harry.

Leo turned to face them. "What was that?"

Vincent coughed. "Just hungry."

The red head eyed him suspiciously. "Just the cauldron and we can go back."

* * *

It didn't take long to obtain the cauldron and they arrived at Hogwarts just in time for lunch. Harry was dragged off by Rudo to the Slytherin table, where Harry spent lunch chatting amiably, if tiredly, with the blonde's friends. While Tom sat at the end of the table, ignoring the world in general and for once not surrounded by students wanting his attention.

"So, Harry," one boy began. "You're related to the Potters?"

"Don't start with the weird questions, Melin," Rudo growled. Harry noticed the change immediately, coming to the conclusion that Rudo was indeed a Malfoy, and that he had not been adopted from some random family. When angry, it was easier to see the similarities between Rudo and the Malfoys from the future.

"What kind of name is Melin?" wondered Harry.

"My parents forgot the 'r', alright?" the boy shrieked, drawing much unwanted attention to the Slytherin table. "It was supposed to be Merlin!"

"Like that's any better," the girl beside Harry, Cornelia, whispered. She was a pretty dark skinned girl and she had taken a liking to Harry, which seemed to surprise her other friends. "We usually just call him Melon, though. _His head_ certainly resembles one."

"Melon...?" Harry oggled her.

"It stuck when Rudo thought that was his name during first year," she explained, giggling into her hand daintily. She smiled warmly at the agitated teen, easing his irritation slightly.

"Relax, Mel," said Reeve, who sat next to the agitated teen, face covered by a book.

"Stop calling me that!" the boy shouted. "Mel is a girl's name!"

"You're acting like a girl," Rudo bit out, gripping his butter knife hard. His anger was quickly forgotten when Harry kicked him under the table. "Just ignore them Harry. You ready for your first class?"

Even though Harry found the quick change of mood very strange, he did not think much about it. "Potions, what fun." He said sarcastically, though the sarcasm flew right over Rudo's head as the blonde agreed wholeheartedly.

Once done with lunch, after which Runako was very loud about wishing Harry good luck and threatening Rudo with dismemberment, Harry was led to the dungeons. He felt very out of place in Leo's Gryffindor uniform. Rudo led him to a seat in the back, where it was even darker than usual.

"You'll like this class," Rudo whispered. Harry found that hard to believe but remained silent. "The professor's real nice and he makes Potions easy."

Tom, who apparently took sixth year Potions, entered the room beside a tall red head girl. He froze upon seeing the two of them together, eyes frosting. The girl smiled at them in amusement, winking and pushing Tom forward when he refused to budge out of the way.

"Helga Weasley," Rudo said, nodding his head in her direction. "She's Tom's close friend and Arnold's older sister. She's actually pretty nice, compared to the other Slytherin girls. She's not annoying, either."

Harry looked over curiously, only to meet Helga's curious gaze. The girl smiled at him charmingly and Harry couldn't help but smile back, she really was very pretty. Startled by his own thoughts, he blinked and turned to face the front of the room.

The class passed without any real problems, aside from a couple of overflowing potions from both Slytherins and Hufflepuffs. The professor did seem nice, even though he took an obvious interest in Harry and was, more often than not, standing by their station. He instructed Harry through the potion with patience and Harry found that it did seem easy. Or easier at least. He wondered at who the man was and why Slughorn wasn't present, though he wasn't disappointed by his absence. Relieved, more like.

Disappointed that class was over and perturbed by that fact, Harry followed Rudo to Care of Magical Creatures. "He seemed somehow familiar..."

"That was Octavius Black," Rudo explained, steering the boy through the crowd. "He's 'married' now, I guess you could say. So it's Octavius Black-Zabini."

"Wait," Harry stopped, staring at him. "He married... a bloke?"

"Yes," Rudo smiled shark-like, amused at the awed expression on Harry's face. "So innocent, baby Potter."

"Hardly," Harry scowled at him half-heartedly, still reeling. "I've never met anyone..." He waved his hand about aimlessly.

Rudo furrowed his eyebrows. "You do know I like Leo's brother, Rayn, right?" He laughed at the blank expression on the boy's face.

Actually, Harry could vaguely recall Leo or Vincent mentioning something about it. "I thought Runako liked Rayn, though. Err... Actually, I think it flew over my head that Rayn was a bloke."

Rudo laughed again, clutching his stomach in support. "You are too much. I got the distinct impression that you were interested in Tom." The blonde grimaced as Harry tripped and landed flat on his face. He helped the small boy stand, straightening his clothes and dusting him off.

"Bloody hell!" Harry muttered. "I'll never be able to look him in the eye again!"

Students tossed them strange looks as they walked past them in a hurry. Rudo was still laughing hysterically, while Harry stood beside him, looking put off.

"Harry!" Runako screeched in the boy's ear, and then continued by squeezing the life out of the poor boy. "Malfoy didn't do anything to you, did he?" Rudo rolled his eyes in the background, taking deep breaths while still clutching his stomach, and chuckling occasionally.

"Stop that!" Romulus snapped, pushing him off Harry in irritation. The four of them were the last to arrive, they wondered at the group of students gathered around a large pen.

Harry pushed past the group, wanting to see what the commotion was about. To his embarrassment, he found himself pressed up against Tom Riddle, who was slowly discovering new shades of red. He smiled sheepishly, looking at the subject of everyone's attention. He cocked his head in confusion, unsure whether he was looking at cats, or a strange new animal species. Either way, they were so... "Cute."

"Who can tell me what these are?" a man, obviously the professor, asked. A long silence followed as the students gazed at him at though he was an idiot, only broken a minute later.

"Kneazles?" Runako shrieked suddenly, eyes rolling as he slumped backwards.

"Rune!" Romulus cried, kneeling beside his unconscious friend. He gently slapped the boy's cheeks.

"Oh, dear," the professor knelt beside them. "Back off everyone! Give him some breathing room."

It took a few minutes for Runako to come around and he stood, albeit shakily, with Romulus' help. Romulus threw one arm about his waist, drawing one of Runako's arms about his neck. "I'll take him to the infirmary, professor."

"Yes, yes, of course," the professor agreed quickly.

"Is he okay?" asked Harry worriedly.

Rudo was staring after the two Gryffindors, eyes wide and panicked. Harry eyed him in concern, shaking his arm gently. Rudo blinked rapidly, giving Harry a tiny smile. "He'll be fine. He has a fear of kneazles. We can visit him after class, if you'd like."

"... Okay," Harry bit his lip, eyeing him in concern. "Are _you_ okay?"

"Alright, I want everyone to pair up and pick one of the kneazles," the professor interrupted.

The blonde was quick to dash off to choose their kneazle, leaving Harry staring after him. The emerald eyed boy chose a spot under a tree, farther from everyone else. Rudo quietly placed the cat-like creature he'd chosen before the boy, leaning back with a sigh as he rubbed at the scratches he had earned.

"Hello, there," Harry whispered self-consciously. He held out his hand in invitation. The kneazle cocked its head and stretched, before sauntering forward and rubbing itself across Harry's palm. Harry chuckled as the kneazle began to purr, turning onto its back, tail swishing back and forth.

Rudo spent the remainder of class alternating between laughing at the unlucky students, who continued to get scratched by their kneazles, and watching Harry interact with theirs.

"What were we supposed to be doing?" Harry asked once class was over, reluctantly leaving their kneazle behind.

"We're going to be learning the proper way to care for a kneazle this week," said Rudo. "Or some other hogwash. We were supposed to get to know our kneazle today."

Harry nodded. "Do you know where Leo is?"

"Probably at the infirmary," replied Rudo. "There was a big commotion about something this morning while you three were gone. The professors are being very secretive about it."

There was something tickling the back of his mind, a memory. Something he was supposed to remember.

"Why don't you go back to Vincent's room?" Rudo asked, eyes worried. "Take a nap before dinner? You look dead on your feet."

"But... Runako," Harry mumbled.

"You can visit him some other time," Rudo smiled gently, eyes warm. "He'll understand."

Harry did not argue. "I think I'll do that. See you later, then." Tiredly, he walked down the halls blindly, rubbing at his eyes as his vision became foggy and the world suddenly spun. He clutched at the wall until the feeling passed, dragging himself along. He let out a panting breath as he reached the Lion's portrait.

There was no time to utter the password as he slumped forward, hands clutching at his chest. An ear splitting scream was ripped from his lips as pain shot through his body. It was ten times worse than having his soul sucked out by dementors, worse than the head splitting pain whenever Voldemort was near. He felt as though his very being was being pulled in every which direction, as though something was trying to tear him apart.

He clawed at the floor as he tried to take in air, _he was drowning_. It felt as though he'd forgotten how to breathe. The very air around him choking him as he clawed at his throat in panic. He heard an almighty roar in the distance as he blacked out.


	4. Reawakening

**His Life's Grace **  
**_Part I: Serpentine _**  
_Chapter Four _  
Reawakening

Harry opened his eyes groggily, cringing at the soreness in his muscles. He shifted his head to the side, trying to make out the blobs of color. He slowly brought his hand up to rub at his eyes tiredly and then blinked the fuzziness out of his eyes.

Leo was sleeping in a chair next to the bed, his knees drawn up under his chin. Vincent was seating on the floor by the chair, his head resting against Leo's legs.

"Leo," Harry tried to call, he cleared his throat when no sound came out. Frustrated, he made a quick motion with his hand. Eyes wide, he watched as a book flew across the room and hit Leo on the head. "Oops."

"Ack!" Leo kicked Vincent on the head, startled. "Bloody hell was-" He was up in an instant as he noticed Harry was awake, ignoring Vincent who was groaning in pain. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by the Knight Bus," murmured Harry.

Leo only smiled thinly, his eyes were red and he looked to be on the verge of tears. Vincent sat on the bed, still holding his head. All three looked up as the door opened, admitting the headmaster followed by a younger boy Harry did not recognize. Though he did resemble Rudo somehow, with blonde hair and grey eyes.

The boy waved his hand imperiously and both Vincent and Leo moved aside, albeit rather reluctantly. He sat beside Harry on the bed, grasping his hand and turning it over. Then reaching up and laying a hand across Harry's forehead.

"He should be fine now," the boy stated, his grey eyes regarded Harry indifferently.

"Who are you?" Harry asked, confused.

"Rayn," was all the boy said, standing. "I'll inform your friends of the... good news."

Leo, Vincent, and the headmaster remained silent until the door closed behind the blonde, after which everyone seemed to relax.

"He frightens me," stated Vincent, deadpanned.

The headmaster took the seat Leo had previously been using. "You gave us quite the scare, Mister Potter."

"You've been... sleeping… for about nine days," Leo said.

Vincent snorted. "You've been practically dead for nine days."

Harry groaned, clearing his throat. Leo brought him a glass of water that he drank down greedily.

"Do you remember what happened?" asked the headmaster, for once not looking out of place and confused.

"Not really," said Harry, shaking his head and groaning at the pain that brought. "I was going to take a nap in Vincent and Leo's room. I was so dizzy and tired... then it hurt. So much."

"Well," the headmaster clapped his hands, looking grim and upset. "We're not sure what happened. A student came across you on his way to class."

"At least you're awake now!" exclaimed Vincent. "You looked like a dead person when we first brought you in here!"

"..." Leo glared at Vincent.

"Err..." Vincent fidgeted. "Malfoy is bringing food. We don't want you withering away into nothingness, after all."

"Well," the headmaster stood, he pat Harry on the head on his way out. "I have some things to attend to."

"I have to go back to the infirmary," said Leo, he hugged Harry tightly. "I'm glad you're alright." He briefly ran his fingers through Vincent's hair before leaving.

"So..." Vincent began awkwardly, his eyes darting about the room restlessly. "How are you feeling?"

Harry stared at him blankly, and then turned to admire the flowers and candy on the bedside table. He grabbed a couple of cards to read them.

"You seem to have gathered quite a few admirers," Vincent said, smiling almost proudly. "Of course, the big bouquet is from Runako and Rudo. They couldn't decide what type of flowers to get you, so they got all the available ones."

The emerald eyed boy regarded said bouquet in confusion. "Rudo and Runako."

"Rayn was there," Vincent looked about in trepidation, as though said boy was going to jump out and attack him. "Those two are whipped."

Harry raised an eyebrow in his direction, deciding not to comment on his own apparent lack of will when it came to Leo. Thankfully, they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Come in already!" Vincent shrieked. He smiled sheepishly at Harry, who had dropped the card he was holding in shock.

"There's no need for you to scream," Rudo mumbled. "Although, you could have at least opened the bloody door!"

Vincent remained silent, visibly shrinking when Rayn followed Rudo into the room. They were then joined by Runako, Romulus, Raven, Erian, Rudolphus, and after a minute, Tom. "Are we having a party or something?"

"Maybe later," agreed Romulus, carrying a food tray and placing it beside Harry on the bed.

Harry ignored them while he ate, not even bothering to look up from his tray. After a while he noticed that no one was speaking and he looked up, only to find everyone staring at him.

"What?" he wondered.

"You're quiet," commented Rudo, smiling uncertainly.

"What do you want me to say?" Harry settled back, gazing back at the evenly.

"Well, you've been dead for nine-" Runako let out a startled yelp as Rayn smacked him across the head.

Rayn glared at Vincent. "What have you been telling everyone?" He didn't wait for an answer, turning back to Harry. "You were found unconscious in the corridor leading to the Head Boy quarters. A student heard The Lion roaring and decided to check it out, which in turn led him to finding you."

"And yet nobody knows what happened to me?" Harry cocked an eyebrow, then returned to his food while frowning worriedly. "Could this happen to me again? Do you think it's because..."

"Because you're a time traveler?" Rayn questioned, he waved his hand around at his startled look. "It became necessary for me to know since I was asked to heal you. It could certainly be due to that, however. But since we've never had to deal with a time traveler before, especially one who is apparently from _very far_ in the future... we can't know anything for certain."

The atmosphere of the room was certainly grim, Harry noticed, as though someone had died. "But I'm all right for now," he said softly. "Right?"

Rayn looked uncertain and the others turned to stared at him questioningly and imploringly. "Of course," he said slowly, staring at Harry as though he was going to keel over at any moment. It wasn't very reassuring, that was for sure.

Romulus suddenly let out a frustrated groan. "Can we all stop scaring him, now! Your bedside manner sucks, Rayn."

The blonde blinked and had the grace to look embarrassed. "Forgive me. I did not mean to cause you undue stress."

"Would you stop talking like that?" Romulus continued. "You need to relax! Get laid!"

Runako reached over and punched him on the shoulder. "Will you stop telling him that!"

The two got into a scuffle while the others tried to separate them. Harry could only laugh at their antics and Vincent sent the two a grateful look.

The group settled down around the room, taking turns to tell Harry about everything that had happened in his absence. "So everyone thinks I was attacked... by girls?" Harry wondered.

"They think that maybe some of the girls took their newly found interest in you a little overboard and... decided to _molest_ you," said Rudo, wrinkling his nose in disdain.

"I hope that never actually happens," mumbled Vincent, a frightened look in his eyes.

Harry looked around the room surreptitiously, eyes lingering on Tom who sat in a corner being talked to by Rudo. He couldn't help but wonder why the boy was even in the room.

The door opened and Leo stopped just inside the room, looking around in apparent confusion. That quickly changed to anger, however. "I thought I said no more than two visitors at a time!" He suddenly screeched. Harry ogled at the speed with which Leo ran about the room smacking everyone on the head. It seemed so normal, for Leo at least. "Out! Out! He needs to rest and he can't do that with all of you hanging about like idiots!"

The group shuffled out of the room quickly and Harry smiled as they waved at him or in Rudo's case, blew him a kiss. Tom lingered in the doorway momentarily, he gave Harry a small nod and then tilted his head in the direction of his bedside table before leaving quickly.

Leo was mumbling as he tucked the covers around Harry, forcing him to lay on his back. He quietly summoned a house elf to take away the dirty dishes. "Rest just a little bit more, Harry."

Harry closed his eyes and relaxed. He heard the door open and then close with an audible _click_. Slowly he peaked his eyes open, then sat up when he saw he was alone. Quietly as he could, he reached over and pulled all the cards on his bedside table onto the bed with him. He smiled as he read the top one, from Raven, who had drawn a strange little creature inside which she explained would protect him from further physical harm. He read through the cards until he came upon one that was signed "_Tom Riddle_". He closed it in order to re-examine the front which, unlike the other ones, wasn't enchanted to move.

The drawing on the front was plain. It was a little stick figure with a sad expression on it's rounded head, it's little stick arms pulled up to it's face as though praying. Harry couldn't help but smile as he traced the figure before opening the card. "_I'm not too proud to say I'm sorry_," Harry read. "_I'm sorry. Get well soon. Tom Riddle._"

With a bittersweet smile, Harry traced Tom's name. Pushing the cards aside, he sat up slowly, swinging his legs over the side of the bed. There was a pitcher of water on the bedside table but no sign of a glass. There were also bags of, he assumed, clothing scattered about the room. He stood, albeit wobbly, and made his way to the door. Not even thinking about the too large shirt and pyjama pants he was sporting as he peaked out wonderingly.

The door led into a large, heavily decorated room that resembled the Gryffindor common room. The far wall was lined with bookshelves built into it, filled with books. There was a large window covered by curtains on the right wall.

He walked across the room slowly. Harry scratched his head and examined the bookshelves closely, noting one of them was sticking out of place. Upon closer examination he found what appeared to be a doorknob and turned it, finding the bookshelf served as a door as well. "Interesting." It led into a simple bathroom, with a tub in one corner that resembled a smaller version of the prefects' bath. He shrugged and closed the door behind him as he wandered away.

Making his way to the window and pulling aside the curtains, he smiled at the sight that greeted him. The room was stationed by the Quidditch field, he could see students on brooms, though they appeared as mere specks to him. He could make out the Slytherin green and wondered if Tom was on the Quidditch team. Though he was feeling very unclean, he decided he was too tired to bother taking a bath and headed back to the bedroom.

* * *

When he next woke it was to muffled voices. He blinked his eyes open and looked around, noticing that he was alone and the voices were coming from the other room. Though they sounded as though they were below him.

With a yawn and a stretch, he stood and made his way to join whoever was out there. Blinking in shock when he opened the door to discover a small hallway instead of the room from the previous night. He eyed the stairwell to his left with suspicion before heading down, stopping at the bottom to eye yet another door which resembled the one from the room. He cautiously opened it and stuck his head out.

"You're awake!" Leo exclaimed as he caught sight of him. Harry stared at him for a second before fully stepping into the room. "You should take a shower and get dressed. You found the bathroom, I presume?"

Harry nodded, still confused.

"This will be your room from now on," Leo continued, he set the tray he'd been carrying on a table Harry most definitely knew hadn't been there before. "The room has a mind of its own, anything you need you'll have. These used to be the Head Boy rooms but we discovered that it plays favorites and it didn't really like Vincent. Dumbledore told us these rooms used to belong to Godric Gryffindor. But we didn't really care much. The bedroom sometimes likes to switch around, it gets bored staying in one place so don't be alarmed when it does that."

Harry nodded again, looking back at the door he had come through. "Where is everyone?"

"Off about, I suppose," Leo shrugged. "It is Saturday. Come eat."

The small boy blinked and joined him.

"You seem to be feeling better."

"Yes," Harry said. "I guess I did need a good rest."

"Well, being unconscious isn't really resting," said Leo.

Harry bit his bottom lip as he eyed Leo thoughtfully, there were somethings he wanted to know and now was a good time as any to ask. "Leo, you and Vincent..."

Leo tensed. "Our _Father_ had an affair with my mother. Actually, he never told her he was arranged to be married. He's a coward and a liar."

"Why do you say that?" Harry wondered, though it wasn't what he wanted to know.

Leo frowned. "Vincent is a year older than me, Harry. Father was arranged to be married but he had already bedded his to-be-wife and conceived Vince. He lied to my mother and he lied to his own wife."

"Oh," Harry frowned thoughtfully.

"Vincent and I met when I first came to Hogwarts," continued Leo. "We didn't know we were related until last year. _Father_ thought the best way to separate us would be for him to claim me as his son, which I am. It was quite the scandal, actually."

"Separate..." Harry mumbled, clueless.

"I was Leoned Black before he claimed me, now I'm Leoned Potter," Leo rolled his eyes.

"Black?" Harry demanded in surprise.

"Yeah, my mother is a Black," explained Leo. "She was disowned, of course. Because she had me out of wedlock. She doesn't care, though."

"So you and Runako are...?"

"Distantly related. Runako is from the main branch of the Black family," Leo waved his hand about randomly. "It's all very complicated. We're sort of the black sheep of the Black family. My great-grandfather, Headmaster Dippet, is a Black on his mother's side. His daughter, my grandmother, married a distant Black cousin."

Harry was feeling a headache coming on but refrained from interrupting. Leo caught sight of his horrified expression and chuckled. "Yeah, the Black family has always been a little weird. Mother didn't want any part of that and she was actually _glad_ when Father demanded I change my name to Potter."

Not wishing to get into another discussion, though Harry wondered if maybe the Black family "weirdness" hadn't rubbed off on Leo after all, he remained silent as he polished off his food. He didn't think he could deal with anymore revelations at the moment, anyway.

Smiling mischievously, Leo casually commented, "So Tom came to visit you yesterday with the others..."

"Yeah, so?" Harry said in an uncaring manner, though he had become tense.

"It's plain to everyone that you two-"

"What's going on in the Muggle world right now?" Harry interrupted quickly.

Leo cocked an eyebrow but allowed the change of subject. "There's a war. There's been a _war_ for the past two years, I think. I'm not too sure about it, actually. But Rayn's lost friends already. If you're really interested and feeling brave, you might ask Reeve Cruizov, one of Rudo's friends that I believe you met. He and his mother were taken in by the Malfoys because their home was destroyed or something."

"_I trade in one war for another_," Harry muttered to himself. "A Muggle war wouldn't affect the Wizarding World, though, would it?"

Leo shrugged, standing up to stretch. "Some wizards have Muggle families. Now, are you going to eat?"

Harry shrunk back into his seat. "I need to think."

"You need to eat it all," Leo said. "Promise me you'll eat it?"

"I promise," said Harry.

The red head gave him a long look before leaving him and Harry waited until the door closed behind Leo before he resumed eating. His thoughts in disarray, though in the forefront all he could think was; "I do _not_ like Tom Riddle." He didn't know who he was trying to fool.


	5. Underneath the Skin

**_Chapter Five  
_Underneath The Skin**

Harry had a plan. "The Plan", as he had taken to thinking of it, had three simple points. One, _stay away_ from Tom Riddle. Two,_ do not talk_ to Tom Riddle. Three, _do not look_ at Tom Riddle. He figured that as long as he followed "The Plan" there would be nothing to worry about. Unfortunately, "The Plan" only succeeded for a day and a half before it failed.

"Are you avoiding me?"

Harry was, to be truthful, frightened. Not only did Tom look extremely upset, but he wasn't blushing either, something that Harry had become used to when seeing the future Dark Lord.

He had not known that avoiding someone could be such hard work. He had meant to take a break and hide out at the library behind a thick volume, he couldn't decipher the title nor anything written inside, but he hadn't really chosen it to read. He had failed to notice Tom Riddle wander into the library and move to sit at his table.

"Well?" Tom raised a single eyebrow when Harry continued to gape at him. "Did I do something to upset you?"

"No, not at all!" Harry stammered, he opened and closed his mouth several times, unsure of what to say. "How are you?"

Tom gazed at him blankly.

"Alright," Harry finally broke, looking pitifully small as he hunched down in his seat and apologized awkwardly. "I'm sorry I've been avoiding you. No, you haven't done anything wrong. I'll be on my way now."

"I don't think so," Tom leaned back in his chair, feeling amused despite also being upset. "Not until you give me a _logical_ explanation."

"Look," sighed Harry, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "The less I become involved in this time, the better. That means staying out of the way as much as possible."

Harry leaned back when Tom began to smile widely. "But you _haven't_ been avoiding everyone. You've only been avoiding _me_!"

"Oh," Harry sank down in his seat. "Noticed, have you?"

"Just tell me," Tom said. "I won't leave until you do. I apologized, didn't I? For treating you badly when we first met."

"You apologized through a card," grumbled Harry. "No matter how charming it was. They were just words on a card."

The prefect scowled. "That doesn't mean I didn't mean them." He stood abruptly and hurried away.

With a heavy sigh, Harry quickly hurried after him. He caught up to the boy and hesitantly made a grab for his arm. "You're right, I'm sorry. I've been nothing but rude to you and yet you've been trying to... well, I don't know what you've been trying to do. Even so, I'm sorry, and... I won't avoid you anymore."

The younger, though taller, boy gazed at him expressionlessly for a moment before huffing and smiling. "I'll hold you to that."

Harry didn't know why he felt so relieved. The past day had been a horror and avoiding Tom was more trouble than it was worth. "I should go."

"So eager to get away from me?" Tom said jokingly, though his eyes showed he really wondered.

"Not at all," Harry said sincerely. "But I have a lot of studying to do. Raven says she won't help me with Arithmancy if I don't apply myself, and the headmaster wants me to take the OWLS, too."

"But you've already taken your OWLS?" Tom asked.

"Well," Harry looked around, then began leading Tom down the hall. "It's just in case they are unable to send me home. They want me to have a backup plan of some sort."

"Of course," Tom nodded understandingly, he hesitated as he gazed down at the still-tired boy. "I could help you as well, if you like."

Harry blinked up at him. "Oh. Err- sure. I mean- that is- if you don't mind..." He trailed off, flustered beyond belief at his inability to finish a sentence.

Tom chuckled, his eyes crinkling at the corners in a way that made Harry want to make him laugh more often. "I don't mind at all. How about I help you with Arithmancy right now?"

"That would be brilliant!" Harry grinned, his awkwardness fleeing at Tom's encouraging smile. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad, after all.

* * *

After a brief argument, the two had settled down in the Slytherin Common Room and had been joined by Rudo, Cornelia, and Reeve, while Melin sat in a corner pouting. The four Slytherins attempted to teach Harry all they knew about Arithmancy, which only resulted in Harry getting a headache, and thus it was decided that they had to start from the beginning.

"Is this right?" Harry wondered, shoving his piece of parchment at the closest person, who happened to be Reeve. The brunette blinked and eyed what he'd written before nodding. Cornelia reached forward and grabbed the parchment when Reeve did nothing else, she swiftly read through what he'd written before passing it back.

"I think you're starting to get it, _finally_," she rolled her eyes good-naturally. In the corner, Melin snorted and she turned to glare at him before returning to whatever it was she was doing to her nails.

"There you are!" a relieved voice cried, startling Harry as he checked over his work. Cornelia made a face as Helga Weasley draped herself over the back of the long sofa. "Why wasn't I invited to this study party?"

Melin snorted again and Helga turned to blink at him in surprise. "Why are you over there? Did Reeve give you another, what do you call it... time out?"

Rudo guffawed and the others laughed at Melin's horrified expression. "He's being an idiot, as usual. We're attempting to teach Harry, here, the finer art of Arithmancy."

"We are also failing at it quite spectacularly," said Cornelia happily.

Harry blushed, mortified. "I thought I was finally getting it?"

"Oh, _now_ you are," Rudo said, grinning widely. "After two hours. No, wait. Three hours? How long have we been at this again?"

"Very amusing," Harry mumbled as the others laughed at him.

"That reminds me," Helga mumbled. "Did anyone bother to tell the Potters were - Harry, was it? - was going to be? Because they seemed a bit worried when I-"

Harry was already gathering his books with a panicked expression on his face. "Leo's going to kill me."

Tom startled away from his own work, finally noticing Helga hanging over Cornelia and Harry in a hurry to leave. "What? Why are you leaving? Did _she _say something?" He sent Helga a glare but she only rolled her eyes at him, whispering something in Cornelia's ear that had the dark skinned girl giggling.

"No, not at all," Harry smiled at him. "I forgot to tell Leo where I was going. I'd better head over to make sure he doesn't have a heart attack."

Tom stood. "I'll walk with you."

Movement in the common room seemed to stop as everyone stopped to stare at the prefect.

"If you wish," Harry grinned, inwardly cackling at the expression on the Slytherin's face. He looked so awkward standing there as everyone gaped at him.

"Nice to meet you, Harry~" Helga said in a sing song voice.

Tom scowled at her as he followed the shorter boy out. Everyone waited until the entrance had closed all the way before resuming their conversations.

"Ah, young love," Helga giggled.

"Indeed, now please remove yourself from my person," Cornelia grumbled, sighing when Helga merely hugged her tighter.

* * *

Leo was very upset that Harry had wandered off without telling him where he was going, but was very happy to see he was all right. He raised an eyebrow when he saw Tom accompanying him and gave Harry a swift and unnoticeable nudge. He thanked the Slytherin profusely for walking Harry back and for helping him with his work. He and Harry watched Tom leave and then entered Harry's new rooms.

Vincent was pacing before the fireplace and he looked immensely relieved when Leo entered with Harry in tow. "Sweet Merlin, can we go now?" The red head scowled at him and he quickly tried to appease him. "I mean. I'm glad you're all right, Harry. We've been worried sick about you?"

The younger boy merely smiled at him tightly. "I was studying and I'm exhausted. I'm going to turn in early, so you can let yourselves out, right?" He didn't bother to wait for their response, heading to the bedroom and shutting the door behind him. He heard a muffled "_ow!_" and the sound of books landing on the floor and grinned.

The day hadn't turned out so bad after all, he decided. With a soft sigh he lay back on his bed, reaching over and grabbing the card he'd left on his bedside table. The little stick person stared back at him from the front of the card, now smiling happily with it's arms raised in the air.

* * *

Harry should have known better, he really should have. Things had seemingly taken a turn for the better for him. He should have known better than to trust fate, something that always found a way to screw everything up. He had gone to sleep with happy thoughts. Calm and relaxed about the future for once, thinking that maybe he had finally found a place where he could belong.

Something had happened in Slytherin in between the time Harry left and breakfast the next day, because many of the older students were scowling and glaring down the table at Rudo. The tension was palpable and seemed to seep into the other houses. By the time breakfast was over, everyone was tense.

Harry had immediately noticed that the dynamics at the Slytherin table had somehow changed. Tom was sitting in between a pale, dark haired girl with angry gray eyes, and a taller dark haired boy who had a sleepy look on his face. Rudo had moved down and was sitting between Cornelia and Reeve, while Helga sat across from them alternating between chatting with a tall, broad, dark haired boy with gray eyes and glaring down the table at Tom. Melin himself was nowhere to be seen and Rudolphus had abandoned the tension of his table to sit with Erian at the Hufflepuff table, which was apparently a common occurrence as no one was bothered with his change of seating.

"Did something happen when you were with Tom last night, Harry?" wondered Leo, also gazing over at the Slytherins.

"No, every thing was fine," Harry mumbled, but he thought back to the previous night and wondered if maybe something _had_been wrong. "There was a lot of tension, though. Do you think it's my fault?"

"Everyone thinks you're a Gryffindor," Romulus said. "I heard that Rudo got into an argument with one of his _friends_. They all probably think you're disrupting their peace or something."

"Leading Tom away from the _light_," Runako said sarcastically, rolling his eyes, and glaring at Tom and his companions.

"Who are those sitting with him?" Harry asked.

Leo spared another glance at the Slytherin table. "Walburga Black and Antonin Dolohov. I'm surprised Helga's not sitting with them, although she doesn't agree with their thoughts, she usually tries to stay by Tom's side." He shot another glance at where Rudo was sitting. "Even more surprising to see Rudo taking the fall for something."

Runako stabbed a piece of potato viciously. "He even snapped at Rayn this morning. Whatever it is that's going on over there. It needs to stop."

Harry swallowed heavily, staring at Tom from across the room and willing him to look up, _smile_. But the boy didn't even turn his head in his direction, instead chatting with the girl at his side. Disappointed and upset, Harry quickly gathered his belongings and, ignoring the others' questions, left the Great Hall.

He could only guess at what had happened and he _knew_ it was because of him. He hadn't bothered to check before associating with the Slytherins. Of course there was house rivalry, when wasn't there? But... this was Tom Riddle's rising time and it was _obvious_ that he was already making a name for himself. He had seemed sincere in his attempts to friend Harry, but something that had happened overnight had obviously changed his mind.

If Tom Riddle had changed his mind about being Harry's friend, then there was nothing Harry could do about it. Even so... why did he feel so sad about it? Was it because he had really believed the future Dark Lord to be different in this time? Was it because he _really_ wanted him to be?

* * *

Classes were tense with the Slytherins the rest of the day and Harry was surprised when he was joined by Helga Weasley during Defense Against the Dark Arts. The girl merely gave him a small smile before focusing on her work and Harry was grateful for her calm presence.

He was even more grateful when he could finally escape the tension of the classes as he was pulled aside by Professor Dumbledore. The man proceeded to question him about little things; how was he doing, how were classes, and Harry knew it was his attempt at distracting him from what was going on. Harry was grateful, but he would be even more so if he actually _knew_ what was going on. Because he had no bloody clue what had happened and Rudo refused to speak about it, even at Rayn's insistence.

In the end, Harry decided to forget about it. If Tom no longer wanted to associate with him, then that was all right too. There were other things Harry needed to worry about; like getting home in one piece. That was all that mattered now. Because there couldn't be anything else.

In his room that afternoon, he took the card he had received from Tom - the stick figure now had it's back to him, shoulders hunched - and he tore it to pieces angrily.


	6. Great Obstacles

**_Chapter 6_**  
**Great Obstacles**

To say he hadn't gotten any sleep the night before would have been an understatement. Harry had drifted in and out of sleep the entire night, unable to find rest. He had been very angry with himself when at one point when he had begun to cry without realizing it. He had been very frustrated and had somehow managed to find his way over to Leo and Vincent's room, not even bothering to wake the two as he crawled into bed between them. Too tired to feel embarrassed or self conscious about what he was doing.

Leo had been very shocked by his sudden appearance and had attempted to stay awake the rest of the night to keep him company. He had also attempted to bore Harry to death with his talk of... well, Harry couldn't really remember what he'd been talking about. The red head had fallen asleep, however, still mumbling away and Harry had no choice but to stay awake the rest of the night.

He had been partially amused when Vincent had woken up the next morning. The oldest Potter had drawn Harry into an embrace in his half-asleep state, obviously thinking he was Leo, and had fallen off the bed once he realized who it was he was holding.

In the end, Vincent hadn't been very happy that they hadn't bothered to wake him, especially after catching sight of the bags that were forming under Harry's eyes. He had been very adamant that Harry stay in the room to rest, but Leo had wanted to boy to have some breakfast, at least.

Leo was already regretting his decision of letting Harry have breakfast as he gazed at the boy worriedly, Harry let out a jaw splitting yawn that had those sitting nearby cringing and staring at him in worry. It was plain for the world to see that he hadn't had a good night's rest.

"Did you have a good sleep?" he asked, wonderingly. Though he knew the boy probably hadn't gotten a wink of sleep, having been awake when Leo and Vincent next woke and looking as though he'd never slept in his life.

Harry looked back at him dazedly. "Brilliant." He returned to the process of buttering his toast, managing to get half the butter on his hand and the rest on the table as his eyes drifted close. In his dazed and sleepy state, he didn't notice that Tom was looking over at him worriedly from his new place at the Slytherin table. The Slytherin prefect had moved back down to sit with Rudo and Helga, leaving two very angry Slytherins behind. He had attempted to speak with Harry before breakfast that morning, but had been ignored and Leoned had not taken kindly to his presence. Even Rudo was still upset, most likely due to the fact that Rayn was no longer speaking to him, and Helga was forced relay messages between them.

Leo stood up abruptly. "Vincent, carry him, _please_." Vincent wasted no time arguing, dragging Harry out of his seat with ease. "Come on, Harry. You're in no shape to be out of bed."

"Hungry," mumbled Harry, though he lay boneless in Vincent's arms as he was carried out.

The staff looked on in amusement, though the headmaster and Dumbledore looked on worriedly.

"Rest first," ordered Leo as he followed them out, glaring at anyone he found staring.

Romulus was the first to speak after they were gone. "I thought Harry went to bed early last night."

"He did," replied Rayn, gazing down at his plate blankly. "But he woke up crying in the middle of the night and somehow found his way over to the Head Boy rooms. Leo tried to stay up with him but fell asleep, Harry was still awake when they woke up."

"This has something to do with Tom Riddle, right?" Arnold mumbled.

"Did Helga tell you anything?" asked Runako.

Arnold gazed about and leaned in as though he were about to share some great secret. "Rudo got into an argument with Melin Shore about Melin's treatment of Harry or something. Of course, Walburga Black came to Melin's defense, then Antonin decided to get involved." The group grimaced. "Antonin and Rudo got into a fight, they used _physical_ violence." Rayn tensed slightly and hunched down miserably. "Walburga forced Tom to pick sides. Helga was very upset when Tom picked Antonin's side and," he nodded over at where Rudo was ignoring Tom who was speaking to him. "Rudo isn't speaking to him. It seems Reeve and Cornelia chose to side with Rudo, as well." Melin was sitting by Walburga Black, his posture screaming misery.

"Did Tom change his mind then?" wondered Romulus, remembering that morning's episode with Harry and Tom.

"I believe he did," Rayn murmured. "He was trying very hard to gain Harry's attention. Then he listened to the stupidity of his _friends_ and Harry stopped speaking to him. It seems he regrets his decisions already."

"Harry's not going to forgive him," Runako said.

The three turned to look at him. "Why do you say that?" asked Romulus.

"Because even if he wanted to, I think Harry finally understands what type of person Tom Riddle really is," Runako answered. "And I think Harry knows something that we don't."

Rayn remained silent as the three speculated. There was something they weren't seeing and probably wouldn't see unless it was explained to them in detail. Harry's sudden tiredness, his moodiness, his uncontrollable emotions... but most importantly, his frustration and anger... It all pointed to one thing.

* * *

Harry woke suddenly, unsure of where he was for a moment. He groaned as he lifted his tired body, or at least attempted to, before falling back on the bed in pain.

"What's wrong with me?" he whispered furiously.

His entire body felt heavy, he tried lifting an arm but soon dropped it back on the bed as pain shot through his body. Tears gathered in the corner of his eyes and rolled down pale cheeks.

"It hurts," he whispered brokenly.

* * *

There was something wrong. It was a feeling that he had.

"Rayn? What's wrong?" Runako asked as the blonde stood suddenly.

"I don't know... there's something wrong with Harry," was all the younger boy said, then practically ran out of the Great Hall. Shoving surprised students out of his way and even managing to shove a very unlucky teacher who managed to get in his way.

Romulus and Runako were quick to follow. Leo and Vincent were on their way back to the Great Hall when the three ran past them suddenly.

"Oi!" Leo cried in surprise. "No running!"

"There's something wrong with Harry!" panted Runako.

"What?" shrieked Leo, following them.

Harry was still on the bed where Leo and Vincent had left him. His skin was pale, he was sweating, and he was breathing in sharp painful gasps.

"Someone go get the headmaster!" cried Rayn, moving to the boy's side. "Quickly!"

"I'll go," Romulus said, running out of the room.

"Vincent, get me a bowl of cold water," ordered Leo as he moved to sit on the bed, gently touching Harry's forehead. "He's burning up."

"He's going through the change," whispered Rayn. "Too soon and too quickly."

Vincent came back with the bowl and a towel. He handed Leo the items and moved out of the way, moving to stand by the window and praying for Harry to be alright.

"We need to relax him," said Leo. He gently dabbed Harry's forehead with the towel, whispering soothing words to the ailing boy.

Soon enough, the door opened and Headmaster Dippet walked in followed by Dumbledore and Romulus. The headmaster moved to Harry's side, gently holding his hand and petting head.

"It's much to soon for this to be happening," he wondered. "Why is this happening so soon? "

"Harry's sense of time is off," Rayn replied. "Going through time must have changed something."

The headmaster stood, expression tense and anxious. "I need everyone but Rayn out of this room, now."

Leo bent and placed a kiss on Harry's forehead. "Be strong. I'm with you." He followed the others out, sending the bedridden boy one last look before closing the door behind himself.

It was several hours later before the headmaster finally opened the door. Romulus and Runako had been sent to class, though they had stopped between classes to see if everything was alright. Leo seized his pacing and waited expectantly as the headmaster exited the room.

"For now, he just needs rest," Dippet said. "So does Rayn, for that matter."

Leo entered the bedroom quietly, as Rayn was asleep in the chair by the bed. Harry lay still on the bed, his cheeks had regained some of their color. Vincent hugged him about the waist, pulling him back against his strong chest, and planting a kiss on the back of his head.

"He'll be alright," Vincent whispered.

Leo nodded, leaning back tiredly. "I hope so." He sighed heavily. "He's certainly not going to like _this_."

* * *

_Kill. Eat. Blood._

Harry's eyes flickered open, the first thing he saw was Rayn, asleep in the chair by the bed. He sat up slowly, still gazing at the blonde. There was something different about the two of them and he knew it was Rayn's fault. He wondered if he'd had another episode.

_ Kill. Must kill._

Emerald eyes flickered to the wall in shock, Harry swung his legs over the side of the bed. Standing up shakily, he padded to the wall and ran his hands across it. There was something there, on the other side, lingering close. Harry held his breath as he listening intently.

_ Let me kill. Blood._

He drew back quickly, as though burned. The hissing was moving along the wall, it seemed to echo all around him, and he drew in a shaky breath. Burrowing his face in his hands as the hissing finally grew silent.

He was startled a moment later when he heard voices from the adjacent room and quickly hurried back to bed. As he slid under the covers, he cast one last glance at Rayn's still slumbering form. Thinking the blonde must be really exhausted.

Leo entered the bedroom not a moment later just as Harry closed his eyes. The red head went over to Harry's bedside and gently brushed the dark hair, bending down to press a kiss to an eyebrow. "I'm glad you're alright." He drew the blankets up over Harry, tucking the boy in. He moved over to Rayn and gently shook his shoulder. "Rayn. Come now, let's get you to bed."

The blonde startled out of his sleep, eyes immediately seeking out Harry to make sure he was all right. Once sure the boy wouldn't be needing his help, he allowed his brother to pull him to his feet, leaning on him sleepily.

Harry reopened his eyes as the door closed behind them. He brought his hand up over his eyes. _I'm glad you're alright_. "Did something happen to me?" Once he was sure he was alone, he stood up once again.

The study area was silent and he was as well as he stood in the center of the room. "What happened to me?"

An extremely large book fell to the floor before him, landing softly, and Harry leaned down cautiously to look at the cover. "The monster book?" The book flew open, stopping at a page and Harry leaned down again to see what it showed. "Veela…? I don't understand. I was attacked by a _Veela_?" More books appeared around him. "Recognizing Veelas, The Veela in You, Inheriting the Veela, The Veela, Dealing With Veelas, The Dark Side of Beauty." Harry rubbed tiredly at his left eye, which had begun to twitch as he went through the books.

"Harry!" someone cried and he turned, startled, dropping the book he was holding. Leo moved to his side, gently taking him into a hug. "What are you doing up? You should be in bed!"

Vincent had frozen behind him, eyes on the stack of books now on the circular table. "Leo."

"Well, since you're up, you should eat something," Leo continued, ignoring his older brother.

"Leo!" Vincent hissed.

"What!" Leo cried, glaring at him. He furrowed his brow when Vincent threw a glance at Harry and then down at the books again. Leo eyed the stack of books on the table, it took his a moment to process the titles and he tensed when he finally did. He turned to face Harry, who was staring at both of them in horror. "Harry, we can explain."

"Explain?" Harry breathed, shaking his head. "There's nothing wrong, though. Right? I mean, you can't possibly believe..."

"Maybe we should let Rayn explain," Vincent said. "Once Harry calms down."

"I _am_ calm," Harry snapped suddenly. Both Leo and Vincent took a startled step back, Vincent brought his hands up defensively. Harry brought a hand up to his forehead, rubbing gently, and heaving a sigh. "What? Did you guys turn me into a Veela or something?"

He had meant it jokingly, but his smile dropped at the grimaces on both their faces. He gaped at them in shock. "You _did what_!"


	7. A Conflict of Emotions

**_Chapter 7_**  
**A Conflict of Emotions**

Harry was pacing. He had yelled, screamed, and ranted at Vincent and Leo for a good hour. Now he simply paced. Both Leo and Vincent had retreated as soon as they were able, with the excuse that they had to speak to the _headmaster_ or some other such nonsense. Harry knew, however, that they simply wanted to get away from him and he didn't blame them. He was _furious_. Nothing could explain the deep seething anger he felt at that moment, this was worse than the time he'd destroyed Dumbledore's office.

He took deep calming breaths, which truthfully didn't help calm his anger... at all. He was having a hard time processing what he had just learned. The very idea was so far-fetched and unbelievable. Things like that shouldn't be possible. There was no way someone could wake up one day and simply become... _something else_! It was absurd.

He froze. Maybe they were playing a joke on him. He looked about suspiciously. Maybe he was being watched right now.

* * *

Harry remained in his rooms the rest of the day, not even bothering to go back to classes or even go down to the Great Hall to eat. He was reading through Recognizing Veelas, which the room had provided for him along with a series of other books. There was no mention of someone _becoming_ a veela by accident or otherwise, the book only dealt with those _born_ Veelas.

A knock at the door startled him and he blinked at it. He had grown used to Leo just coming right in whenever he pleased. "Err- come in?"

The door opened and Rayn stuck his head inside, "Have you calmed down?"

Harry shrugged, closing his book and throwing it on the floor. Ignoring Rayn's displeased look at the action. "I am as calm as I'm going to get."

Rayn looked at something behind him and nodded. "Then I'd like you to meet someone."

Harry stood, shoving his hands into his pockets as Rayn led someone inside and closed the door swiftly. The boy before him was tall, almost unbearably so, with pale blonde hair and even paler eyes. Almost like a ghost.

"Harry, this is Azure Delacour, a good friend of mine," Rayn said. "Azure, Harry Potter."

Hearing the boy's name, Harry took another look at him. He certainly didn't resemble Fleur. "Charmed."

The boy cocked an eyebrow at him, lips pulling up into a small mocking smile. "Indeed, I'm sure you are."

Harry decided he didn't like this guy. Not at all.

Rayn's face twisted briefly before he smiled tightly. "Azure is here to test something."

"The veela thing, right?" murmured Harry suspiciously.

Azure sniffed disdainfully. "Yes, the veela _thing_."

"All right," Harry agreed, reigning in his anger. "But first I want to know _how_ this could have possibly happened."

"You mean they haven't told you yet?" the veela, or whatever he was, laughed. He threw Rayn a look which went ignored. "Maybe we should wait until after he finds out all the details, yes?"

"What details?" Harry demanded, interrupting Rayn who was about to speak. He eyed the two of them suspiciously before his temper flared. "Whatever it is, I want to know. _NOW_."

"All right!" Rayn snapped, startling Harry and even Azure, who took a step back away from him. "This is mere speculation on most of our parts. The Ministry isn't even telling the headmaster _anything_."

"The Ministry?" wondered Harry.

"They're supposed to be looking for a way to send you home," Rayn continued. Harry shot Azure a look, but the boy simply grinned in a knowing way. Harry couldn't help but roll his yes, apparently no one was very good about keeping _secrets_. "We're under the impression that they tried something a while back which was what led you to getting knocked unconscious. I believe that they tried to send you forward through time, without first seeing what year you were from. If they had succeeded, you'd have likely not landed in your own time or you might have been completely erased from existence." Harry cringed. "The Ministry likes to think they have a lock on Time."

"It felt like I was getting ripped to pieces," Harry growled.

"They tried to send you back, you tried to stay," said Azure, amusement coloring his voice. "You _were_ being ripped apart."

"Lovely," Harry muttered. "Wait, what does that have to do with this..." He waved his hand at himself, trailing off uncomfortably.

Azure grinned widely. "Our lovely Rayn was summoned. He's an expert healer, you see. Probably inherited from his mother. What he didn't expect when healing you, however, was for his magic to get sucked into you."

Harry spluttered. "_What_!"

Rayn scowled at his friend. "Don't listen to him. He's just trying to scare you." He sighed when Harry continued to stare at him wide-eyed. "You _tried_ to suck my magic out, what you sucked out, however... well..."

"I sucked out your _Veela_!" Harry cried, horrified. He ignored Rayn's attempts to calm him down as he began pacing around yet again.

Azure was amused. He'd previously thought helping the boy would have be just as dull and exhausting as the last time he'd tried to help someone; his younger sister, Apolline, who'd had trouble controlling her own temper.

"Sit, sit!" Rayn was dragging the horrified boy to the sofa, pushing him down among the many pillows that suddenly appeared. Harry sunk into the cushions until only his head remained visible from beneath the pile of pillows. "Er..."

"I think this thing is trying to eat me," Harry said, he flailed an arm about helplessly, throwing them a wide eyed look. "Could I get a little help?"

"No, no, stay there," Rayn exclaimed. "Just _relax_."

"I feel suffocated, how can I relax!" Harry grumbled, writhing around awkwardly before huffing and giving up. "Well, at least I can't _hurt_ you from here."

"I think that was the plan," mused Azure. He dodged Rayn's poorly aimed kick, rolling his eyes at his friend's childishness and sniffing disdainfully as he took a seat in the armchair. He stared around distastefully, the room was a bizarre combination of the Gryffindor Common Room - which he had visited after arriving in order to greet Leoned - and a library. The sheer use of red in the room was appalling and there seemed to be no set pattern to the various decorations that littered the walls and _floor_, almost as though the room had been decorated randomly. Or by someone suffering from mental instability. He eyed Harry suspiciously.

"I'm not exactly an expert at these type of things," Rayn was saying, either unaware or ignoring Harry's growing agitation. "What we do know, however, is that you'll begin showing characteristics of a Veela. That is; charm, allure, beauty-"

"Are you calling me ugly?" Harry interrupted, pouting.

"Out of everything he's said, that's what you focus on?" Azure shook his head. This was going to be hell.

"You might experience periods where you'll feel paranoid or furious without reason," Rayn continued, ignoring them both.

"This sounds very rehearsed," muttered Harry.

"Oh, it is!" Azure whispered, grinning widely, showing rows of perfectly aligned white teeth. "He spent almost _two_ hours rehearsing in front of the mirror."

Harry cleared his throat loudly until Rayn was forced to stop and look at him inquiringly. "I thought Veelas were only female?"

Azure leaned back in his seat, wiggling around to get comfortable as though preparing himself for a long explanation. "That's a common misconception. Male Veelas _are_ uncommon, but not rare. Full blooded male Veelas are _very_ rare, however." He gestured at himself primly. "I am a full blooded male Veela. Lovely Rayn here is a half Veela, his mother was a full blooded Veela who was _my_ mother's cousin-"

"I don't need another family lesson, please," Harry interrupted, pained.

The _full blooded_ Veela sniffed and stuck his nose up, glaring at Harry as though he were a bug that needed to be squished_ immediately_. Harry didn't appreciate that, truthfully, and so he glared right back, sticking his tongue out for good measure.

"You have _much_ to learn," Azure said, shaking his head. Harry didn't like the sound of _that_ either.

Azure's idea of teaching Harry "control" was, apparently, to continuously piss him off until Harry finally exploded. The Veela then proceeded to spray Harry with water as though he were a dog. Harry had no idea what was happening until Rayn explained that Azure was helping him control his temper by humiliating him. Shockingly enough, it was working. Occasionally.

He was finally allowed to rest in peace with the promise that Azure would return in the morning to continue the "lessons".

* * *

Lessons with Azure the next morning where as much a pain as they were the night before. As soon as the Veela had gone into the bathroom for a break, Harry had snuck out the door and down the hallway as fast as his legs could carry him.

Harry let out a deep breath as he reached the fourth floor. "I need... more exercise." He looked about cautiously, relaxing when he didn't see anyone he recognized. Rounding the corner, he accidentally ran smack into a small hunched figure. The impact sent him flying over the figure and he landed, quite painfully, flat on his face. Cursing his luck and the stupidity of people who stood hunched over where anyone could trip over them he didn't even bother moving off the floor.

"I am so sorry!" a small squeaky voice cried. "Let me help you up."

Harry sat up slowly, waving the help away in irritation. "Listen, what were you-" And he froze, mouth agape. "You're-"

The girl fidgeted under his stare, adjusting her overly large glasses. "I'm Myrtle. You're that new boy, something Potter?"

Shaking off his shock, Harry nodded. "Harry Potter."

"Nice to meet you," Myrtle said, timidly.

Harry wrinkled his nose at her. "Sorry. I imagined you to be loud and obnoxious."

"Pardon me?" stuttered Myrtle, eyes wide.

"Err- I mean-" Harry laughed nervously, realizing what he'd said. "I... err, I heard... about you, I mean. Yeah, that's it. From..." He tried to jog his memory of second year. "Olivia... Oli-_something_."

"Olive Hornby?" Myrtle scowled darkly.

"I think that's it," Harry muttered.

Myrtle seemed to deflate. "Oh." Harry gave her a confused, questioning look. "She's always teasing me about my glasses. I'm used to it."

Feeling guilty, Harry pat her shoulder awkwardly. "I'm sorry. But really, you shouldn't be accustomed to people speaking ill of you."

The girl smiled shyly. "Thank you."

Harry tapped his chin thoughtfully, looking her up and down. "Maybe if you changed your glasses she wouldn't tease you anymore."

The girl frowned. "Oh, I can't afford new glasses."

Harry couldn't believe he was feeling sorry for her, after she'd spread the rumor that he'd murdered Draco Malfoy. Still... maybe if her appearance changed...

Myrtle was startled by the smile that spread across his face. "I have an idea," he said before dragging her off.

* * *

"You're what?" Leo questioned for the third time. "I just don't understand." He eyed the Ravenclaw girl wringing her hands worriedly behind Harry.

"I don't expect you to understand," Harry growled. "I just expect you to help me. Now, will you give me what I need or not?"

"Yes, yes," said Leo startled. "My goodness."

"I don't have all day, you know. I still have things to do."

"I'm sorry for keeping you," Leo raised an eyebrow at Harry's behavior, feeling put out. "Are you _sure_ you don't need any help?"

"No," Harry said shortly. Finally gathering all he needed, he grabbed the girl's hand with his free one and dragged her away rapidly.

Leo stared after them for a moment before deciding to forgo going to the infirmary that day and to just go back to sleep. Maybe next time he woke, the world would make sense again.

* * *

"I- I don't know," Myrtle said hesitantly. She gazed at herself in the mirror, fingering her hair. "I'm not much to look at."

"Don't be so pessimistic," Harry retorted, sorting through the materials he had gathered. "If Leo could tame _my_ hair, anything is possible."

"But I don't understand _why_," Myrtle look at him through the mirror.

"Don't worry, I don't want anything in return," said Harry. "But I believe it will benefit _all_." _Plus, if you die. Maybe you won't be such a whiner this way._

Myrtle drew her eyebrows together and shrugged. She took off her hair ties, allowing her hair to cascade down her back in a tangled mess.

Harry wrinkled his nose, looking at her hair and back at the brush in his hands. "Here I go."

Half an hour later, Myrtle was rubbing tears out of her eyes. Harry stood behind her triumphantly, he had managed to untangle half of her hair. "Now the second half." Myrtle whimpered.

Another twenty minutes later and Myrtle's hair was tangle free, while the girl was whimpering in pain.

Harry ignored her, picking up a book from the counter and opening it to the marked page. He read through the page then held it up for Myrtle to see. "I think we should do _this_ with your hair."

"Really? That looks so lovely," Myrtle whispered in awe.

"This looks rather simple. I just hope I don't mess up and make your head explode," Harry said uncaringly.

"My head _what_!" Myrtle cried.

Harry repeated the motions and incantation as shown in the book. He felt his wand warm and then cool, he waited for the tip to light before slowly and gently running the wand over Myrtle's hair, grinning as the strands bent and curled with the magic. "Who knew hair styling could be this simple."

Once that was done, Harry scrutinized his victim. "We'll have to do something about those hideous glasses, of course. After we're done, Olive Hornby will never bother you again. If she does, she'll get a good kick in the-"

"Harry!" Myrtle blushed, mortified.

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. He reached out and picked up a different book, flipping through the pages absently. "Here we have a spell to make things thinner, maybe that will work. Unless you want to try an eye repairing charm, but since I'm not a certified Healer you'd likely end up blind."

"No! Thin is good!" Myrtle placed her glasses on the counter. Harry waved his wand and leaned back as the glasses 'shrunk'. "Perfect." Myrtle hesitantly put her glasses back on her face.

"Lastly, I think we'll need a girl's help," Harry tapped his right foot thoughtfully. Then he grinned widely. "I think I know the perfect person, too. Maybe two."

* * *

"You want me to what?" Cornelia demanded incredulously. Staring at Harry as though he'd suddenly grown another head. "That's a joke, right?"

"No, actually, I was hoping you would agree quickly," Harry said.

"Quickly?" Cornelia cocked an eyebrow at him. "You've obviously lost your head. I'm sorry, but I have better things to do than help out a-"

"Maybe I didn't make myself clear," Harry interrupted. "Perhaps you'll agree _quickly_ once I tell you if you do not, I will reveal a certain little secret to _all_ your little Slytherin friends. Then we'll see who's calling who a _mudblood_."

Cornelia stiffened, staring at him and looking as though the world had suddenly crashed down around her. For a Slytherin, she really was _so_ melodramatic, Harry thought viciously. "Are you black mailing me?"

Harry cocked an eyebrow, mimicking her previous expression. "I thought that was obvious."

"How do you-"

"Know?" Harry chuckled. "I know because Rayn knows. It's all very complicated and _you_ don't need to know."

"Who the bloody hell is Rayn?" Cornelia hissed angrily.

"You two seem to having a very cozy talk over here," Helga whispered loudly as she joined them in the corner. She took the seat to Harry's right, reaching out and patting Cornelia's shoulder. "Come now, Cornie. There's no need to be rude to our dear baby Potter."

"Don't call me Cornie," Cornelia snapped. "You only just met him two days ago!"

Helga was looking at Harry curiously. Harry absentmindedly wondered if she _maybe_ hadn't been meant for Gryffindor, like the rest of the Weasleys, instead of Slytherin. But looking at the Cheshire grin on her face, he had serious doubts. "So what brings you to our side of the castle, little Gryffindor?"

Harry didn't bother correcting her. "Well, I was asking Cornie for a little help, you see."

"Don't call me Cornie!" Cornelia snapped again.

"Oh?" Helga leaned forward, interest piqued.

"I need a girl's perspective. Since the only two girl's I've met are Cornie and Raven-"

"Say no more!" Helga suddenly threw her hands up. "I can see why you wouldn't go to _Raven_. All right then, if that's the case. I have no choice but to volunteer for this task."

Cornelia rolled her eyes. Harry was ecstatic, however, and not only because he'd managed to get the help he needed but also because he'd managed to snag Helga Weasley without any work at all. He hadn't even had to blackmail her. He threw Cornelia a little smirk.

The dark skinned girl gritted her teeth. "Oh, _very well_."

"Brilliant!" Harry cried excitedly, drawing the attention of all the Slytherin students still in the common room. He ignored their condescending glares and happily led the two girls out.

"_So_... What are we doing?" wondered Helga.


	8. Magical Art

**_Chapter 8_**  
**Magical Art**

With February upon them, life at Hogwarts was anything but normal... or calm. In the end, Helga had been more than happy to help out a fellow girl in need and had even volunteered to take her shopping next Hogsmeade weekend. For a Slytherin, Harry thought she was overly friendly. But from what he observed, Helga always did whatever she wanted and if it managed to piss off the older Slytherins, then even better. According to Arnold, who was her younger brother, she had become Tom's friend during his first year by defending him from the older Slytherins who apparently liked to tease him then. It certainly helped that Helga came from an extremely wealthy family, being the eldest as well, and that she was close friends with the 'Prince' of Slytherin, whom Harry had yet to meet. The thought of anyone aside from Tom ruling the Slytherins was actually _so absurd_ that Harry didn't really believe Arnold.

Myrtle's sudden change in appearance was received with an uproar that kept Harry amused for days. Though he'd not been pleased when people had suddenly begun coming up to her to invite her to parties and on dates. Since the two were in the same house, Harry asked Raven to keep an eye on her and after being told just who it had been who had helped Myrtle - Helga - she had readily agreed. Harry was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something going on between Helga and Raven that he didn't know about.

Out of everyone, Harry had least expected Romulus to be the first to welcome Myrtle into their knit-close circle. He had expected Romulus to be the first in trying to woo her, not treat her in the respectful manner he actually was.

Lessons with Azure continued and though he was assured that he was making great progress, Harry still had uncontrollable periods of rage during which people actually _ran_ from him. The latest victim of his rage had been a singing dwarf, who'd had the unfortunate task of delivering Valentines to Harry. Dumbledore had been forced to interfere when Harry had attempted to strangle the _poor _ creature and he had been given _detention_. As though it was his fault the bloody thing was so annoying, or that he had an uncontrollable rage. Apparently no one had ever gotten a detention from Dumbledore and Harry was stared at with awe for days afterward.

His sudden bipolar attitude did nothing to deter those few brave students who approached him with Valentines, chocolate, and invitations. He had been confessed to more times than he could remember and honestly, why would people _confess_ to him when they didn't even know him? Did they think him so shallow that he would take one look at them and suddenly fall in love? He had been sharp, curt, and all other nice-things to everyone one of his 'admirers', sending quite a few of them running away, crying hysterically.

"Harsh, Harry, harsh," said Romulus, though he was awed by Harry's 'skills'.

"Best to stop them early before they think they stand a chance," was Harry's reply, taking a bite out of a giant chocolate heart he had received. "It's free chocolate, though. Who's complaining?"

Rayn sighed, shaking his head. "Return the chocolate if you aren't going to be nice to them."

"Why?" Harry asked, genuinely confused. "They bought it for me. It'd be a waste to let them have it back."

"Your logic astounds me," said Rayn from his corner of the table.

"You're just jealous," Harry retorted, sticking his chocolate tongue out at the younger boy. He ignored Azure's disgusted look and knew the younger boy would go out of his way to be extra harsh next lesson.

"Stupid classes tomorrow, I can't wait for school to just _end_," Runako said, yawning and stretching his arms. "Who are you going to the dance with Harry?"

Harry shrugged, uncaring. "Whoever I deem worthy of my presence."

"Should have known," mumbled Runako, he turned to the girl at his side. "How about you Myr?"

Said girl was startled at being spoken to. Even now, after all of Runako's teasing and everyone's warm welcome, she was still uncomfortable around them. She blushed madly as the group gave her their undivided attention. "Oh, err... A seventh year asked me..."

Interest peaked, Harry leaned forward. "Oh? What house?"

"... Hufflepuff..."

"And his name?"

"Does it matter?" Romulus demanded, confused. "If Myrtle decides he wants to go with him, we really can't stop her, can we?" He sat back when Myrtle threw him an angry look.

"Christian Bones," she said.

Smiling innocently, Harry returned to chewing on his chocolate heart. Myrtle gazed at him wonderingly before she was drawn back into a conversation with Raven. Romulus scratched the back of his head, he'd never understand women... or Harry.

Breakfast after that was filled with the usual banter and soon the group headed out. They were barely out of the Great Hall when they noticed a group of girls gathered just outside the doors. Their voices were raised and they were shouting and screaming at each other. Harry had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach as the girls noticed their presence, he exchanged a panicked look with Azure and Rayn.

"There he is!" one of the girls shrieked. Almost as one, the group turned and stared at them. One of the girls stepped forward. "Harry Potter, we will not rest until you decide to take one of us to the dance!" The group echoed that with a resonating 'yes!' Harry backed away from them slowly, his left eye twitching involuntarily. "You shall take one of us or no one at all!"

"Err..." Harry attempted to smile, twitching as they stalked closer and taking a step back. "I think we should sit down and talk about this, you know? I mean, I hardly know any of you!" This, however, was apparently the wrong thing to say and the next thing he knew he was being pulled down the hallway by Rayn and Azure as the girls charged forward.

"Heh heh," Romulus laughed nervously, even as his friends began edging away from the advancing group. "Maybe one you would like to take _me_ to the dance?"

The girls traded looks before glaring at Romulus murderously. "NO!"

"Eep!" Romulus turned and high-tailed it out of there, followed by his friends.

* * *

Myrtle couldn't believe she'd become part of this group. Why, oh, why hadn't she turned down Harry's offer to help?

"Will you shut up?" growled Runako, wincing as Rayn applied antibiotic to the nail marks on his arm. "This is all your fault."

"No, it's _your_ fault," Harry growled, glaring at him angrily. "You should have run faster. You're on the Quidditch team, aren't you supposed to be fit?"

Rayn rubbed his temples as an argument erupted in the room. "Enough. It's nobody's fault. They were attracted to Harry. He can't help it."

"I want some of that," Romulus piped in suddenly, earning himself a smack on the head courtesy of Runako. "Watch the hair!" He took a seat on the sofa, which was half covered by all the gifts Harry had received that day. "Harry, are you going to eat any of this?"

Looking up from where he lay on the floor on his stomach, Harry shook his head. "No."

"You'll get fat from all that," said Rayn, he joined Runako on the floor by Harry. The spiky-haired teen was shuffling a deck of cards absentmindedly while Harry folded square pieces of paper into frogs.

Yawning, Runako began another conversation. "Did Leo tell Vincent yet?"

"No, he's planning to tell Vincent on the fourteenth," Rayn replied quietly, poking at one of Harry's paper frogs as it began to hop forward crookedly.

"That'll be quite the gift," said Romulus, mouthful of chocolate. Myrtle, who was nearest to him, wrinkled her nose and edged away. "Do we plan to hide out in Harry's room all day?"

Said owner of the room shrugged, hitting one of his frogs with his wand when it began to hop upside-down. "If you want to go, then go."

"Well," Romulus stood and stretched, dusting his clothes off and fixing his hair. "I'll check."

A knock on the door drew their attention and they exchanged glances before Harry shouted, "Who is it?"

"Who do you think it is?" came a familiar indignant voice.

"The door is unlocked," Harry called back. He returned to whacking the topsy-turvy frog with his wand in an attempt to get it to hop properly. Rudo entered, followed closely by Leo and Vincent, then shortly after, Raven. "Are we having a party?"

"A party to my return! Did you miss me?" Rudo asked, he joined the three of them on the floor, ruffling Harry's hair as he sat.

Shrugging, Harry replied. "Where you gone?"

Rudo held a hand over his heart and made a pained expression, though he was smiling widely. "We heard you were _attacked_ by a... group? Of girls?"

"More like savage beasts," muttered Harry, out loud he said. "Did you need something?"

"The castle is very lively today," said Vincent. "We wanted to check up on you lot."

Harry shrugged again, letting out a soft sigh as he observed his friends. Vincent joined Romulus by the sofa, stealing chocolate when Leo wasn't looking. Raven sat by Myrtle, both absorbed in their conversation. Runako, Rudo, and Rayn were now playing Exploding Snap, or something that looked vaguely similar. As he observed his friends, he didn't notice the butterflies he had just drawn on a piece of paper suddenly start flapping their wings. Rayn, who was closest, observed the process with interest. He watched as another drawing, a frog, suddenly let out a loud croak and leapt.

"Bloody hell," startled Runako, jumping back. "When did you get a frog?"

"Err," Harry hesitated. He ran after the hopping amphibian and caught it between his hands. "I didn't. Are you afraid of frogs too?" He placed the frog on top of the paper and they watched as it was sucked back into it.

"Wotcher, Harry," said Myrtle, excitedly.

"Eh?" asked Harry, confused.

"Since when have you been able to do that?" asked Leo, grabbing the paper and shaking it in the air.

"Do what?" Harry asked again, becoming more confused by the second. Leo shook the paper in his face. "Oh. I thought lots of people were able to do that."

"It's a rare gift in the Potter line," Vincent said. "The ability to animate _art_. Kind of pointless if you ask me."

Leo glared at him. "Don't worry about it, Harry. I do suggest you read up on Animation, however. _I_ happen to think it's quite fascinating." Vincent had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Animation? Never heard of it," Harry said.

"It's a skill people who paint portraits are required to learn, at least if they wish to paint _moving_ portraits," explained Raven. She was already holding a large book on the subject, holding it out to Harry with a raised eyebrow. Harry took it cautiously, having learned not to refuse her.

"I've always wondered how moving portraits were created," Harry hummed. The cover of the book read, funnily enough, The Art of Animation, and the pages contained many illustrated images that moved.

"Everything happens to Harry," Runako murmured quietly, eyes on Myrtle who had been drawn back into a conversation with Raven. "Traveling through time, almost dying _twice_, having rare abilities no one else does."

"Pointless abilities," mumbled Vincent as he managed to sneak another chocolate bar.

"Why do you say it's pointless?" Harry wondered.

Vincent shrugged. "Well, unless you're an artist and you enjoy painting. It's rather pointless having an ability that you'll never use."

Harry returned to perusing the book, thoughtful. Vincent was right, of course, such an ability would have been better suited to Dean Thomas or someone equally as artistic. Aside from finger painting in nursery school, he'd never painted otherwise.

"Have you been here all morning?" demanded Leo. He furrowed his eyebrows and wrinkled his nose at the chocolate boxes that took up most of the space on the sofa.

"Since the attack?" Romulus asked. "Yes. Of course, I would have gladly sacrificed myself for the sake of my mates."

Myrtle snorted. "You are despicable."

Romulus smiled. "I try."

"I'm a little shocked the room hasn't begun throwing books at us," said Vincent suddenly, looking about in trepidation. "Remember that, Rune?"

The boy in question scowled, but did not divert his attention from the game. "I try not to."

"It _is_ a very picky room," agreed Leo. "Harry's presence seems to keep it calm, however."

"So how are your _lessons_ going, Harry?" Runako asked suddenly, looking back and forth between Azure and Harry.

Harry tensed, throwing Azure a suspicious look, while the Veela merely looked decisively amused from behind the book he was absently flipping through. "_Fine_."

Thankfully, they all knew better than to comment, especially at the gleeful expression on Azure's face. Runako, himself, had learned quickly that he should never be on the receiving end of that expression.

After losing for the fifth time in a row, Rudo turned to Harry and asked, "So what has been happening while I was away?"

"Well, Rayn turned me into a veela," replied Harry, immediately and without hesitation. "Aside from that, not much."

The blonde, gray eyed half-veela gasped as though insulted and straightened. "I'll have you know-"

"Know what?" Harry interrupted rudely, he threw Rayn a shrewd look, smile crooked. "That's what happened, wasn't it?"

Rayn opened his mouth but found himself unable to reply. He took a deep breath as he looked at the ground, attempting to gather his thoughts before replying. "No, that is _not_ what happened. If anyone is at fault here, it's you."

Harry gasped indignantly. "Yeah, because I _meant_ to suck out your veela. Like I bloody want the stupid thing-"

"It's not a thing! Nor is it stupid!" Rayn shrieked, drawing wide eyed looks from everyone, even Azure who had never seen the younger boy lose his cool.

"Enough!" Leo thundered. He glared at Rayn and pointed to a corner, "You, over there!" Then he turned to Harry and pointed to another corner. "You, over there!"

"I think we should leave," Raven said after a while, drawing a still frozen and very confused Myrtle out of the room as quick as she could.

"I agree," Romulus mumbled, stumbling after them. Even Azure looked ready to bolt, but one look from Leoned told him that would have been a _very_ bad idea indeed.

* * *

After a thorough scolding, which even Azure could not escape, Harry was finally set free from his overbearing relative and wandered down the hallways aimlessly for a while. He eventually wandered down towards the lake, where he sat against a tree for a while before he was joined by Erian and Rudolphus.

"You look unhappy," Erian commented, cocking his head at Harry adorably.

Harry smiled crookedly, "Can you blame me?"

"I suppose not," Erian pouted. "How are classes going for you? I know you've attended as many as you've skipped."

"Oh," Harry waved his hand about carelessly. "I haven't been in a mood to be around groups of people."

"So I gathered," said Erian dryly. He leaned against Rudolphus, who was nose deep in a book. Harry absently wondered how he'd managed to snag all the geeky people before realizing Erian was still talking to him. "He's actually late. He's never late."

"Who's late?" Harry asked in confusion.

Erian frowned at him, but before he could reply the answer dropped down to sit right beside Harry, who couldn't help but stiffen. Rudolphus glanced up interestedly as an awkward silence fell upon the group.

"Harry," Tom all but purred, staring at him with a seemingly blank expression on his face.

"I should go," Harry said grumpily. He made to stand up but halted as Tom reached forward and snagged his wrist, pulling him back down. "_Let go_!"

"Be _silent_," Tom hissed, eyes flashing.

Erian and Rudolphus glanced at each other silently, mentally agreeing to leave the two to their confrontation.

Harry growled at him. "Don't tell me what to do, you little-" He cried out as Tom manhandled him into a sitting position, kicking out at the taller boy and catching him on the shin.

The Slytherin grunted but continued to wrestle him down. "Will you _listen_ to me!"

"I won't listen to anything you have to say!" Harry declared angrily, still struggling against him. How the bloody hell was he so strong? "Get off!"

"I am _trying_ to apologize!" Tom cried.

"You have the possibly worst way to apologize!" Harry shouted back. He managed to get his arm free and immediately brought his elbow up to hit Tom in the face. The boy fell back with a grunt. Harry panted as he lay there, gradually getting his beating heart to calm down. He glanced at Tom and cursed, the boy was sitting up holding his bleeding nose. Harry couldn't help but feel guilty over his actions. "We should probably get you to the-"

"Tom!" another voice interrupted. Harry whirled about to face a tall pale girl running towards them while another tall, broad boy followed at a more sedate pace. He vaguely recalled Leo pointing the girl out as Walburga Black, whom he remembered would be Sirius' mother, and whose portrait hung on the entrance hall of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. "Get away from him you _beast_!"

Harry crossed his arms and scowled at her. "Speak for yourself," he sneered as he looked her up and down condescendingly. She flushed angrily.

"You'll regret this," she hissed at Harry as she manhandled Tom.

"_Stop touching me_," Tom growled at her and she faltered, stepping back when he glared at her in intense hatred. He turned to Harry, hoping the boy would do the honors of escorting him to the Hospital Wing, but said boy was already walking away furiously.

Harry was breathing heavily, his body shaking in barely concealed fury as he stalked back towards the castle, passing Erian and Rudolphus without so much as a look. He stopped abruptly when he realized he was being followed and whirled around, ready to face Tom but instead encountered the boy who had been accompanying Walburga.

Up close Harry decided he wasn't really a _boy_, yet he wasn't a _man_ either. The boy-man was tall, broad shouldered, with a head of dark hair and intense gray eyes. "Harry Potter, right? I'm Adon Black."


	9. Friends Close, Enemies Closer

**_Chapter 9_**  
**Friends Close, Enemies Closer**

Harry glared at his stalker distrustfully. "Honored. Do you mind? I'm a little busy."

"That's alright," Adon smiled cheerfully, hands tucked in his pockets and eying Harry up and down interestedly. His grin grew even wider, if it were at all possible, and Harry felt slightly put out. "I just wanted a few minutes of your time."

"Oh, alright," Harry shrugged, glowering. He allowed the boy-man to accompany him down the hallways, ignoring the students' curious stares.

"You're a good friend of Rune's?" Adon asked. He eyed Harry sideways, eyes twinkling in a very Dumbledore-ish fashion. "He has good taste."

Flushing, Harry shrugged. "He's usually with Rayn or Romulus. He's an acquaintance."

"Ah."

"Is this about him?" Harry said abruptly. "Did something happen?"

The boy-man beamed. "No, no. I just like to keep track of the people he associates with."

"Oh... That's kind of you."

"It's my duty as older brother."

"You're his brother?" Harry frowned, regarding him again. So far, all the Blacks he had met looked alike, so it was difficult telling immediate family relations. "He hasn't mentioned a brother."

"Really?" Adon hummed thoughtfully, then abruptly, "Well, it was nice to meet you and nice going with-" He then mimicked hitting an invisible person with his elbow. He chuckled, letting out a satisfied sigh. "Made my day. Well, see you!"

"Ah-" Harry blinked after his rapidly disappearing figure, startled and - if he was honest - disappointed. "Nice to meet you too."

* * *

News of Tom's _accident_ reached everyone's ears by lunch, though no one seemed to know of Harry's involvement. The rumors seemed to indicate that people thought Adon, whom Harry had found out from overhearing a conversation was the "Prince" of Slytherin, had punched Tom for stealing away Walburga. By the smug expression on the girl's face, she seemed to be enjoying this rumor and did nothing to dissuade the students' assumptions.

Though he wasn't particularly happy that the girl had taken advantage of the situation, Harry wasn't about to go revealing what really happened to anyone. One, he didn't need all that attention, and two, Adon was actually quite happy to let people believe _he'd_ punched Tom. Harry may not have liked Walburga Black, but Adonis "Adon" Black had turned out to be a very likable character once he got to know him.

"So Horace Slughorn usually teaches Potions? What about Professor Black?" asked Harry, confused, as he worked on a Potions essay that was due by the end of the week.

"He's substituting for a while," replied Rudo absently. "Professor Slughorn will be gone, who knows how long and why. He's also head of Slytherin."

"Really? Interesting," Harry replied. They worked in silence for a while, occasionally exchanging glances as Helga cursed. Harry had been amused to find out just how utterly _hopeless_ she was at Potions, even with Professor Black's careful tutelage, which was the reason she was taking _sixth_ year Potions even though she was a seventh year. Because of Professor Black's favoritism of Harry, Rudo had switched with Helga so that she would be getting the same amount of help from him, though so far it wasn't helping. It was almost as amusing as watching Raven fumble around with Transfiguration, though Harry wasn't in her class for which he was thankful.

"You have to report to detention tonight, right?" Helga asked, nudging Harry slightly, eyebrows furrowed as she glowered at her essay.

Harry groaned. "I'd forgotten."

"Chin up, Harry," Rudo snorted. "Professor Dumbledore _likes_ you. So I wouldn't worry about it. He'll probably try to stuff you full of sweets, though."

"Well, I think I'm done," Harry stretched, he allowed Helga to reach over and take his essay as he lay back and closed his eyes.

"You expect people to be able to read _this_!" Helga cried in horrified awe. She squinted at the words on the parchment. "_Mancake?_"

Rudo spluttered, laughing hysterically as Harry sat up and tore the essay from her. "That obviously says _mandrake_! How did you get _mancake_!"

"What are you three _doing_?" Adonis demanded as he dropped down to sit between Harry and Helga. "Mancakes and mandrakes, the audacity." He looked over Helga's shoulder and squinted at Harry's essay. "Oh, I see. It's some sort of secret code, right?"

"Why are you even bothering to look at it if you can't read it?" Harry demanded.

"Dearest Helga needs all the help she can get," Rudo snorted, flicking through his own Potions book.

Helga ignored them and continued to squint at Harry's essay, continuously returning to her own essay and crossing out various words, sometimes even entire paragraphs. The three boys grinned at each other, bemused. Harry huffed, a small smile on his face, thinking about how utterly _normal_ this all seemed. Helga was a lot like Ron most of the time, though she was utterly _brilliant_ and extremely beautiful, her intelligence on par with Hermione's. She was as slippery as a snake and knew how to blend in to her surroundings, she was quite easy to get along with and Harry found himself quickly becoming absolutely _enamored _with her wit. She was actually like a female Adonis, who was just as handsome as she was beautiful, and truly the idol image of Slytherin House.

It really was no wonder the two were together, Harry thought fondly, smiling over at the two. Adonis was leaning against Helga's side, his chin resting on her shoulder as he pointed out passages in Harry's essay and then to something in hers. The two had taken to accompanying Harry around, one on either side of him as Ron and Hermione often did, and it made being stuck in the past a lot more bearable. He understood now why the Slytherins allowed Helga her oddities, she was technically the "Princess" of Slytherin House. It was actually quite amusing to watch her go up against Walburga while knowing that.

Ah, Walburga. The girl had at first been smug about the rumors that had begun to spread throughout the school. Until Harry and Helga had decided to retaliate by spreading their own rumor, at least. It helped that Tom seemed to want nothing to do with the Black heiress anymore and more often than not was heard snapping at her for her sheer _stupidity_.

There was a rumor that Walburga and Adonis were engaged to be married, but Adon explained that that was a rumor based on a misinterpreted fact. Adonis' middle name was Orion, a common Black name, and his youngest brother's first name was also Orion. It was the youngest Orion who was engaged to marry Walburga, to "keep the fortune in the family". Adonis' own engagement to Helga Weasley was actually a well known fact among the Pureblood families. Helga was wealthy and so was Adonis, it was a "good match".

At least they're in love, Harry thought fondly.

"Bloody hell, Harry," Adon grumbled as he tilted Harry's essay this way and that. "Does this say _fat cow_?"

Harry pouted at him and took the parchment back. He squinted at the words Adonis was pointing at. "Heh heh, that does say fat cow!" He really should stop thinking bad things about Walburga Black while doing his homework.

* * *

Tom looked up as he heard screaming coming from the path leading to the lake. He raised an eyebrow as Adonis Black stalked down the path, Harry thrown over his shoulder, and being followed by Helga who was clutching her stomach in laughter and Rudo who looked as though he wished he were elsewhere.

Harry was shrieking and kicking his legs about wildly. "You wouldn't dare!"

Both eyebrows shot up and Tom gaped as Harry was thrown into the lake, clothes and all. Harry sputtered and wrapped his arms about himself as he shivered. Erian, who was sitting beside him, began giggling hysterically. Rodolphus, on Erian's other side, merely rolled his eyes and returned his attention to their Charms project.

"T-that's c-cold!" Harry growled, though he didn't look very threatening. Rather, he looked like a drowned cat. The image was very appealing... Tom shook his head furiously.

Helga smiled at him happily. "That's what you get for calling me a fat cow!"

Even Rodolphus raised his eyebrows at that.

Harry spluttered. "I didn't call _you_ a fat cow. That was a complete misunderstanding!" Tom wondered if anyone else noticed the sudden gleam in Harry's eyes, he guessed not as the boy suddenly charged forward and tackled Adonis into the lake, managing to soak Helga and Rudo with the resulting splash. Harry waded out of the water, coughing and brushing hair out of his face.

Adonis had diverted his attention to Helga, who was dripping wet with her clothing sticking closely to her body. Tom could see why he was distracted, but he rather liked looking at Harry's similarly drenched form. Helga suddenly squeaked and ran ahead of Harry with Adonis hot on her trail. Rudo was spelling his clothing dry with a long suffering look on his face, probably wondering why he'd even followed the trio down to the lake.

"I'm so happy that Harry's fitting in," Erian chirped happily. Rodolphus hummed, agreeing merely for the sake of agreeing, as he often did with Erian.

Tom couldn't help but wonder how Harry had managed to get into Adonis' and Helga's good graces. Though he, himself, considered Helga his friend, the girl was actually very picky about who she associated with, same as Adonis. As many students wished to be considered their friends, due to their influence and current positions, the two didn't trust easily.

"You three working on a project too, eh?" Helga asked as she joined them, thankfully dry. "What's this for?"

"We're working on our Charms project," Erian replied, smiling at her like a curious cat. Helga was particularly fond of Erian, Tom knew, because of his good nature and his inability to judge people. It was actually the same thing that had drawn Tom to Erian in the first place and likely what Rodolphus loved most about him.

"I'm late!" Harry cried suddenly. "Dumbledore's going to _kill_ me!" He gave a swift kick to the back of Adonis' leg, sending the boy toppling forward, and then ran back up the bath towards the castle.

Helga giggled. "I guess he managed to get the last word in."

"Did he really call you a fat cow?" Erian asked wonderingly, eyes wide and worried.

"Oh, no," Helga shook away his worry. "See, his mind has a habit of wondering off when he's studying and writing essays. So instead of writing about the properties of the mandrake root, he was writing about what he thought about Walburga. Quite amusing, really."

Adonis was rubbing the back of his leg as he took a seat next to Helga. She turned and snuggled against his side, "Where did Rudo go?"

"Harry forgot his bag," Adonis chuckled. "The boy knows how to fight." He threw Tom an amused glance and was rewarded with a glowering scowl. Leo had not been very happy when he learned just _how_ it was Tom had broken his nose and had refused to do anything beyond straightening it out so there was still a bruise around Tom's nose and his left cheek. "Come on, love. Let's leave the little unicorns to their work."

Helga snorted. "The only one resembling a unicorn here is Erian." The two wondered back up the path with Adonis' arm wrapped around Helga's waist. Tom couldn't help the twinge of envy he felt at watching them, turning around only to scowl even more as he saw Erian cuddling against Rodolphus' side. This is absurd, he thought, I'm surrounded.

* * *

"Cutting it mighty close, aren't you?" Dumbledore said as Harry burst into his classroom at exactly seven. Harry held up a hand as he panted, breathing heavily as he dragged his bag across the floor and took a seat at the front. Dumbledore shook his head, unable to keep his stern facade and finally smiling. He waited for the boy to catch his breath before speaking. "We haven't had a change to talk lately. How are classes going?"

"Classes are fine," Harry replied sincerely. "It's actually easier than I thought. Most of the work we're learning right now I actually learned in third year. Except in Potions, which seems to be ahead instead of behind."

"I'm more worried about Defense class," Dumbledore said, gazing at Harry over his spectacles. "Galatea says you seem bored with her class."

"I meant no offense, Professor," Harry began awkwardly. "I've always been better at that class than others. Plus, she spends so much time telling us that she'll be gone _'any day now_'. Even Helga falls asleep in that class."

The man chuckled lightly. "It's understandable. When she first agreed to the job, the headmaster assured her that it would only be until we managed to find a more suitable replacement. The headmaster, of course, has forgotten and it seems her own mind is beginning to go as well." He shook his head fondly.

Harry only managed a crooked smile, thinking this was possibly the worst time to have someone who didn't know what they were doing teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts. "Well, aside from that I have to rewrite my Potions essay." He passed said essay over for the man to look over.

"Indeed," the man chuckled, eyebrows raised. "I don't believe Octavius would appreciate it. Though I've heard he's grown especially fond of you."

"He's brilliant!" Harry exclaimed. It was true, the Potions substitute did show Harry favoritism, and he always took the time to answer Harry's questions. If it weren't for him, Harry would be failing Potions spectacularly.

"How about your lessons with Mister Delacour?"

"Oh," Harry shrugged. "He's ignoring me." Harry was becoming frustrated by this as well. Only the previous day the Veela had told him they were going into the next "phase" of the "training" and now the Veela was ignoring him. It was confusing.

Dumbledore seemed amused by this, but remained silent on the subject, knowing the boy would figure it out soon enough. "What about the incident with Mister Riddle this morning?"

_That_ wasn't something he wanted to speak to Dumbledore about, Harry frowned thoughtfully. "It was an accident, sir. He just rubs me the wrong way, is all."

There was a knowing look in Dumbledore's eyes that Harry definitely _didn't_ like. "Yes, I believe the feeling is mutual. Even so, I'd like for you to try and get along with the other students and that includes Mister Riddle."

"All right, but only if you tell me about Grindelwald," Harry said decisively.

"I don't know about that, Harry," Dumbledore shook his head. "Wouldn't you rather know about what the Ministry is doing to get you home?"

Harry snorted. "_No_. I'm not sure I can trust the Ministry to send me home in one piece. So I'm trying to get comfortable in this time. I _won't be_ comfortable until I know what's happening with Grindelwald... Sir." He flailed an arm around as he continued. "It's not like it's some big secret and I already know that you were once friends with him-"

Dumbledore choked on the piece of candy he was sucking on. Harry stared at him in horror but stayed in his seat as Dumbledore held up his hand, summoning a glass of water and gulping it down. "And how did you come about that information?"

"You told me," was Harry's response.

The man blinked at him, surprise evident on his face. He frowned in thought, then nodded as he came to a conclusion. "All right. But tell me, Harry... Why do you really wish to know about him?"

"Truthfully? I don't know," Harry crossed his arms on the desk and leaned his head upon them. "There's this feeling that I have. I can't identify it. I only know what little you told me about Grindelwald, sir. But... I'd like to know more. Why did he become a Dark Lord?"

"I met Gellert one summer, he was staying with his aunt, Bathilda Bagshot," Dumbledore began fondly, smiling softly at the memories. "He'd been expelled from Durmstrang, you see, when he was sixteen. Gellert was always fascinated by the Dark Arts and would not stop pursuing his interest. I was two years older." He heaved a sigh, his expression so weary that Harry felt guilty for making him remember. "I agreed with his beliefs. That wizards should rise up over Muggles, all for the greater good."

Harry tensed suddenly, something about those words didn't sit right with him.

"My brother, Aberforth, tried to reason with us," Dumbledore shook his head, stopping momentarily to gather his thoughts. "Gellert was always temperamental, so easily angered."

_Like me_, Harry thought distantly.

"In the resulting duel... My dear sister, Ariana, was killed. Aberforth could never forgive me," the man smiled grimly. "Gellert ran, of course. I ended our friendship that day-"

"Why would you do that?" Harry wondered.

Dumbledore blinked at him.

"Sir, no offense, but... he was _sixteen _years old," Harry whispered furiously. "He was _my_ age. You say he was temperamental? What does that make me? I attempted to _strangle_ a _dwarf_ for doing his job!"

"Harry, you don't understand-"

"You placed all your blame on him," Harry continued in the same tone of voice. "He needed a _friend_. Someone who understood him and stood by him. But you blamed all _your_ mistakes on _him_. And you wonder why he _ran_ away? For all intents and purposes, _Sir_, you abandoned him. Was it even he who killed your sister?"

"That's enough!" Dumbledore cut in abruptly.

Harry faltered at the expression on his face, swallowing heavily against the bile in his throat. With a heavy heart and blurry eyes, he gathered his bag and all but ran from the room. Unable to stop thinking on the similarities between himself and the Dark Lord Grindelwald. If he lost his temper and accidentally lead someone to getting killed, would everyone abandon him too?


	10. The Darkened Corridor

**_Chapter 10_**  
**The Darkened Corridor**

Harry refused to attend anymore detentions with Dumbledore after that, even though the man seemed to give him detention every time they ran across each other. The headmaster intervened in the end, unhappy with the teacher's treatment of his _new_ favorite student. Harry knew Dumbledore wanted to speak to him, but he refused to be left alone with the man. He ended up having to drop Transfiguration and transferred over to Ancient Runes, also signing up for Herbology. The less time he had to think about things, the better.

He was aware that he was sporting some rather fetching circles under his eyes, though he didn't care. Anyone unfortunate enough to tell him to get some rest or other such nonsense was growled at, threatened, and - once - cursed until they ran way.

His "friends" had decided to take the matter into their own hands and _somehow_ he had been conned into babysitting a very sick Leo, who had deemed it the perfect time to go over their family tree. He was also rather determined to have Harry memorize every single detail, until Harry was positively sure his brain was leaking out from his ears. Not to be deterred, Leoned continued on about one of their ancestor's great deeds. Though to Harry, it sounded like fairy tales. A princess trapped in a tower? He was convinced he'd heard the tale before... Either way, he didn't much care. Leoned continued on, not bothering to stop for a breath, even when Harry began to drool in a very unseemly manner.

The time passed with Harry draped hazardously across an armchair in his rooms, mouth slack and eyes lidded, thinking random thoughts as Leo rambled on and on. Leoned lounged happily on the long sofa, where he was being pampered by the room's invisible hands.

Harry was almost asleep when he noticed the ringing silence. Alarmed, he sat up just in time to watch Leo race to the bathroom. Flinching at the sounds of heavy retching that soon followed. He moved quickly to the fireplace, it might be his only chance to call for help or back up.

By the time Leoned emerged from behind the secret bookcase, Vincent was patiently waiting by the fireplace. As he was dragged away, Leo threw Harry a decisively betrayed look. Harry almost felt guilty. Almost. If it weren't for his mushy brain, he'd probably feel guilty for real but it was all Leo's fault he didn't!

With a groan, Harry realized his thoughts weren't making much sense and decided to skip classes for the rest of the day to take a much needed rest.

Later that day, not too long after lunch, Harry was wandering the hallways. He was hoping that he could figure out where Rebeus Hagrid, whom he'd seen skulking around the dungeons, hid his pet Acromantula. Maybe helping out the half-giant would make him feel better.

"Well, surprise, surprise," Adonis cried joyously upon catching sight of him. "Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? Is your period of hermitage over?"

"I've only skipped two classes," Harry mumbled, though he was glad at least someone had missed him.

"What are you doing wandering around?"

"I'm looking for something, or someone," Harry shrugged. "Rebeus Hagrid."

"Oh, that third year?" said Adon, wrinkling his nose in distaste. "He's always lurking around the dungeons with a big box, probably housing some dangerous creature again."

Harry blinked. "So you know where he is? I know he has free period."

"No idea!" Adon said brightly, he slung an arm about Harry's shoulders and led him back up the stairs. "But I might know someone who does."

* * *

Harry did a double take, then again just to make sure. Adon couldn't possibly mean...

"Oi, Weasley!" Adon whispered furiously.

"Arr, ahoy there, mateys!" the wild haired boy called back, waving a wooden sword about in the air. "Be that braggarts there I see?"

"Don't even attempt to understand what he's saying," whispered Adon, as though conspiring some great secret. "He goes through these phases."

"Who is that?" Harry demanded, doubtful.

"Michael Weasley, he's Helga's youngest brother," said Adon. "He's Hogwarts' mascot. But he's that Hagrid fellow's best friend, so he must know where Hagrid is."

Michael Weasley was a short, scrawny boy with wild red hair. His face was covered by bright freckles and he had the biggest blue eyes Harry had ever seen, they seemed to bulge in a way that reminded him of Dobby.

Currently, Michael Weasley was pretending to be a pirate. And had apparently chosen the Grand Staircase as his ship, where he had set up a floating thin board against one of the railings (his plank), and a tall pole with a black flag attached to it further up around the 5th floor. Some of the portraits where yelling back in pirate talk about swabbing something or other, others were telling the students, who were either skipping or had free periods, to "walk the plank!"

All in all, it was a very odd sight and Harry didn't know whether to be amused or horrified.

"Is he allowed to do this?" Harry wondered out loud.

"He keeps the portraits and ghosts entertained, so we let him get away with it," Adon explained. "Weasley. Come here!" He waggled his finger. "I need to ask you something."

"Ruddy landlubbers!" Michael whined, leaving his position and his sword. He scowled irritably at them, tapping his foot impatiently. "What do ye be wanting?"

"We just want to ask you a question," said Adon innocently. Michael merely frowned at him doubtfully, turning to face Harry instead.

"Do you know where I can find Rubeus Hagrid?" asked Harry.

"Aye, he's prolly down by th' galley."

"What does that mean in plain old English?" wondered Adon.

"He's probably down by the kitchens," replied Harry. "Let's go."

"Avast, you scurvy dogs!" Michael cried, suddenly brandishing his wooden sword once again. "'Tis time fer ye to walk the plank!"

Harry scowled down at him. Adon took a step back, even the portraits grew silent as a dark cloud seemed to form over Harry. Any other time of the week, Harry would have found this all very cute, but he wasn't in the mood. "The only one who'll be walking the plank is _you_, if you don't get out of my way this _instant_."

Michael meeped and scurried away.

* * *

"Scaring little boys, probably scarring them for life," Adon was murmuring, mostly to annoy Harry. After one too many turns, he was beginning to wonder if perhaps Harry wasn't looking for a dark, spooky corner to murder him. They'd passed the hallway to the kitchens twice already, yet Harry made no move to go there. Opting instead, to walk around in circles as though waiting for something.

Finally, Harry stopped abruptly, seizing Adon's arm and dragging him into the shadows. For a second, Adon thought his previous idea of a bloody death had been correct. Until he head muffled voices from around the corner. He and Harry crept along the wall until they could see around said corner.

Harry heard Adon's "ooh, big spider!" before he actually saw Aragog, huddled on the floor not too far away.

* * *

To a young spider such as Aragog, who had lived in a box most of his short life, the world was a big and scary place. Especially when there was a very angry tall thing shooting sparks of light at you and you couldn't run because two of your many legs were sleeping. It took a lot of concentration to get those legs to work properly, didn't you know?

The tall thing moved towards him again and another sparkling light lit the hallway. Before the light hit him, however, there was the sound of running footsteps and then he was in someone's arms. Warm and safe.

"_Protego_!" the warm, safe not-as-tall thing shouted. The sparkling light hit an invisible wall and vanished.

Aragog looked up interestedly, gaze contacting with the warmest, shiniest green eyes. _Pretty_.

* * *

Tom lowered his wand in shock. Because who but Harry _bloody_ Potter had appeared to the Acromantula's aid.

Harry was holding the Acromantula gently in his arms, almost as though he were carrying a small infant instead. He was looking down upon it with a soft, gentle expression on his face that Tom had only ever seen once or twice, and never directed at him. Why did that little creature deserve to be the recipient of that gaze?

"That's a dangerous creature!" Tom cried, though he made no move to attack again.

Harry cocked his head, his expression hardening. "But he isn't the most dangerous creature at Hogwarts. Is he?" He contemplated Tom seriously, almost as though he were staring straight as his soul and not liking what he was seeing. Tom froze at the implications of that statement. "The headmaster would be very interested to know. Would he not?"

Lips thinning, Tom turned and stomped away in a flutter of robes, knowing he had to get away fast before Harry decided to change his mind. The boy had been in a very grim mood since his detention with Dumbledore, prone to explode at the most inconsequential things and Tom did not wish to test his ire. His overly dramatic exit was overlooked as Aragog began kicking his many legs about, obviously wanting to be let down.

Harry mournfully complied. The Acromantula was rather adorable as a baby, thought Harry.

"Err, thanks. Fer helpin' us," spoke Hagrid. Harry almost startled, having forgotten about the half-giant. "Why would ye..."

"Oh," Harry smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. I didn't see you there. Is that _your_ Acromantula?"

The half-giant hesitated, shuffling his large feet and looking mildly uncomfortable. The large spider had wandered back to the box and was sneaking back inside.

"Isn't it just a tad bit dangerous... bringing a dangerous creature into a student environment?" continued Harry, serious gaze resting upon the intimidated half-giant. "I have no choice but to report this-"

"No, please!" Hagrid cried. "I'm all he's got! He's only a baby-"

"Even so-" Harry tried to continue, feeling slightly miffed when he was interrupted once again.

"I'll do anythin'!"

Harry took a deep breath. Adon thought he might implode or explode, either one wouldn't be good, so he took another step back just in case. He turned his attention to the box, where he could make out Aragog peering out curiously. It was rather... endearing... if he thought about it. Though, he wouldn't be keeping it as a pet either way.

"Bring the box to my room," said Harry suddenly. "I'm not discussing this in the middle of a busy hallway."

For busy it was, Adon noticed. Students were beginning to appear in the corridor and there were many strange looks thrown their way. Though none seemed likely to approach them, not when there was that look on Harry's face. And especially not when they had seen what happened when someone approached Harry with _that_ expression on his face.

Hagrid picked up his box and reluctantly followed after them. The trip to Harry's rooms was silent, or as silent as it could be when every one of the half-giant's steps made something creak. It was grating on Adon's nerves but he endured, simply because if he complained he'd incur the wrath of the youngest Potter.

Once inside his rooms, Harry seemed to relax, although marginally. "You can let your Acromantula out if you wish. After that, come sit and we'll talk."

Adon claimed the lone armchair in the room, as Harry vanished into the bedroom, closing the door behind him. Hagrid hesitated briefly but pulled the top off the box. The Acromantula peered out curiously, then slowly climbed out and wandered off.

The third year hesitated once more before taking the long sofa, making it creak loudly from his weight. He remained stiff and wide-eyed as he sat there.

In a vain attempt to lighten the mood, Adon extended a box of Harry's Valentine's chocolate. "Chocolate?"

Hagrid gave him a long suspicious look and did not take one. Adon shrugged and ate the rest himself, a little put off by the obvious mistrust the other showed.

Harry finally emerged from his room, looking oddly refreshed though that world weary look was still on his face. Nobody questioned what he'd been doing in there. As soon as he emerged, Aragog shot across the room at top speed and almost bodily heaved himself onto Harry's leg, where he clung very successfully to Harry's pants.

"He seems very taken with you," said Adon, grinning widely. "Prolly thinks you're his _hero_."

"That's wonderful," Harry winced, pulling the Acromantula off his leg gently. He summoned another armchair and gracefully threw himself upon it. He massaged his forehead gently and Adon stared at him worriedly.

"You all righ'?" Hagrid asked, he was also gazing at Harry in worry and even Aragog seemed to sense something was wrong with his _hero_. The small Acromantula was pulling at Harry's pant legs insistently, he chirped questioningly when Harry gazed down at him.

Harry smiled warily. "I'm fine. Just a slight headache."

"You've been over working yourself," Adon scowled.

"Please," Harry held up a hand, the other reaching down to scoop Aragog into his arms. "Not right now, Adonis."

Adon cringed at the use of his name but remained silent.

"I'm sorry if I frightened you," Harry said to Hagrid, who was still confused and a little worried. "But it needed to look as realistic as possible. Now, I have a proposition for you."

"A propo...?" Hagrid echoed.

"Proposition; an offer, a proposal of sorts," explained Adon.

"Will you hear me out? I believe it will benefit you in the end," continued Harry.

"Err, all right," agreed Hagrid.

"Tom knows you have him, so he can use him against you," began Harry. His head already filled with all the negative facts of the situation. "If you let him stay with me, he can't. It's really that simple. Allow me to _keep_ Aragog."

_Aragog?_ Adon wondered.

The Acromantula seemed to react to the name, pulling at Harry's shirt before snuggling down against him, or as much as a spider could snuggle anyway.

"But-"

"It doesn't mean that you won't get to see him," continued Harry, as though reading Hagrid's mind. "As long as you're discreet, the room will always grant you entry. And Aragog won't have to hide in that box, he'll have free reign of my rooms. I'm sure he'd like that."

Hagrid frowned thoughtfully. "Can we... try it?"

"Of course," Harry replied. "I'll keep him here and you can visit him when you have time. We'll try it for a few days and see how it goes."

Adon interrupted. "If you're willing, I can get someone from the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures to register Aragog to Harry's name."

Harry looked at him in surprise and Hagrid looked even more thoughtful. The half-giant eyed Adon and then Harry, his eyes were worried as he took in Harry's appearance and then Aragog happily snuggling in his lap. "All righ'. Aragog is yers then."

"What?" Harry mumbled, he blinked tiredly at Hagrid. "You're just giving him to me?"

Hagrid nodded, then smiled gently. "Ye look like ye need a friend."

Adon kept his thoughts to himself. What he wanted to say, _Harry already has friends_, didn't really seem appropriate. With Harry unable to show the half-giant out, Adon volunteered himself to do it, and he did it happily. He wanted to get Harry to bed as soon as possible, the younger boy looked as though he was going to keel over at any minute.

Harry yawned as Adon closed the door behind Hagrid, who left much jollier than he'd arrived.

"All right, to bed with you now," Adon whispered as he helped him to his feet. Aragog moved out of their way, seeming to understand that Adon wanted Harry to rest. "We can deal with Mister Aragog when you're not so tired." He frowned worriedly when Harry didn't even argue, letting himself be led to his bedroom where he fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

The Acromantula climbed onto the bed and lay down next to him, falling asleep instantly as well. Probably tired from all the excitement. Adon needed to remember to tell Harry they needed to get the spider checked over. He didn't want the creature to suddenly maul Harry or anything.

Adon leaned back against the chair located next to the bed. He had been worried that morning when Harry had missed Defense Against the Dark Arts and had learned the boy had also skipped his previous class. Helga had wanted to search for him, but Adon had promised to find him and make sure he was okay. She had gone to her next class, worried and sad, neither which he liked seeing on her usually happy face.

He froze suddenly, there was a sudden chill in the air. Aragog woke and began twittering and clicking nervously. The Acromantula jumped off the bed, only to hide under it. There was a hissing sound coming from the walls all around them, seeming to echo in the room.

No, he realized, it wasn't hissing. It was _words_.

"_Sleep_," said a voice, washing over him like warm honey. "_Don't wake. Never to wake. Sleep away the days. Sleep forever._"

* * *

"Harry, hurry up! We're going to be late!"

"C'mon, mate! Professor McGonagall won't wait forever."

Harry blinked awake warily, automatically reaching for his glasses. He sat up slowly as the world shifted back into focus. "Ron? Hermione?"

"What's wrong, mate?" Ron wondered. "You're looking a might pale."

"I had the strangest dream," he replied, rubbing at the tingle in his scar.

Hermione leaned forward worriedly. "Was... it about You-Know-Who?"

"Don't worry... about it," Harry hesitated, eying the two of them briefly. "Are the two of you all right?"

"Of course, mate," said Ron, cocking an eyebrow. "C'mon. We're going to be late for Transfiguration."

"Transfiguration?" echoed Harry, confused.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione asked, still looking worried. "You do seem quite pale."

"No, no. I'm fine," Harry argued, chuckling nervously. "Can I get dressed now?"

Hermione blushed. "Sorry!"

"We'll wait for you downstairs," said Ron, leading the blushing girl out the door.

Their footsteps receded. Harry looked around almost dazedly, then at his hands. He bit his lip thoughtfully, then quickly pinched his arm, letting out a startled "ow!" when pain erupted from the spot.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, rubbing at the sore. "Must have been some dream."

He didn't even bother with a shower, just throwing on his uniform quickly and, grabbing his books, joined Ron and Hermione in the common room. Together they made their way to Transfiguration, though Harry still felt out of sorts.

_Wake up, Harry!_

Harry stopped abruptly, gazing down a darkened hallway.

"C'mon, Harry!" Ron called.

_C'mon, Harry!_ echoed the hallway.

"Harry, not that way!" said Hermione, she grabbed his arm tightly. "Don't you remember what Professor Dumbledore said?"

Harry did a double take. "Dumbledore? But he's-"

"He told us to stay away from that corridor, remember?"

"Hurry up, you two!" Ron yelled. "McGonagall's not going to be happy."

"We're coming!" Hermione cried exasperatedly, she shook her head and pulled on Harry's arm. "Let's go, Harry. Ron's right, for once. Professor McGonagall won't be happy if we're late for her class!"

"Right," Harry agreed, he followed reluctantly. Taking one last look down the long, darkened corridor. Why hadn't he noticed that corridor before? And Dumbledore... He remembered Dumbledore warning them not to go into that corridor... yet... "Didn't we have an essay to write?"

"That's right!" said Hermione, she gave him a long serious look. "You did finish it, didn't you?"

"... I don't remember," Harry revealed sheepishly, he dug into his bag. "Ah, here it is. Oh, it looks finished. Could you look it over for me?"

"Blimey, you two!" Ron cried. "You're slower than slugs!"

"It won't take long!" Hermione argued back, taking Harry's essay. "This is great, Harry! You actually finished it on time. We can't say the same for some of us."

"I finished mine!" Ron said defensively, producing a smudged and torn parchment from his bag. "See?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Oh, honestly." She pushed open the door to McGonagall's classroom and Harry froze in shock. "Harry?"

"Sorry, I must have spaced out, I didn't notice we'd arrived," he said. But... from Gryffindor Tower to the first floor... "I must be out of it today."

"Just let it pass," Ron said. "I just hope we don't get anymore essays anytime soon."

Harry joined in their laughter. Pushing his worries out of his mind as he entered the room, the door closing behind him with a resounding bang.

* * *

"I was wondering where you were hiding," said Harry, not bothering to look up from the book he was reading. A shapeless shadow took the seat across from him, almost blending into the darkness that lingered around the edges of the world.

"You were to look for me, I was waiting," the shadow replied, sounding petulant.

"Sorry, I've never done this before," said Harry, closing the blank book in his hands and shoving it aside. "Why are most of these books empty?"

The shadow seemed to shrug. "They're based on your memories. I guess you don't read many books."

Harry frowned, thinking that was an insult. They regarded each other silently, though the shadow had no visible face, Harry knew he was being stared at.

"What am I going to do with you?" he mumbled finally, rubbing at his forehead in irritation.

"Are you going to kill me, then?" the shadow asked, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.

Harry shook his head. "Despite what I may have said in fits of uncontrollable rage, thanks to you, by the way, I would never kill a part of me. Even if you weren't meant to be a part of me in the first place."

The shadow shifted, then, becoming almost solid. "Is that true? Really?"

Harry stood. "Let's take a walk." He had a nagging feeling that he was wrong in his assumption that this was Rayn's Veela.

They left the library side by side, almost like they were one person and not two. Faceless students lined the halls, waving and greeting Harry. Though they were ignored for the most part.

Ron and Hermione caught up with him at the bottom of the stairs, demanding to know where he'd been. They had, apparently, been looking for him for a while and had been worried when they couldn't find him. Harry managed to calm them and slip away with the pretense of having forgotten something.

"For memories, they're very persistent," he mumbled.

"They grow stronger the more you think of them," the shadow replied happily. "That's why some memories are more easily visible than others."

"They didn't notice _you_."

"Oh, I'm not part of your memories," the shadow laughed and there was almost something sinister to it that set Harry on edge. "I just linger here."

"Why?"

The shadow seemed to hunch in on itself. "They're very happy memories, Harry. It's better than lingering in the darkness."

Harry winced. Feeling, for a moment, a sharp pain in his chest. "I'm sorry." He meant it, as well, he was startled to realize. "How do I get out of here?"

"You mean you don't know?"

An image crossed Harry's mind then. Of a darkened corridor with pulsing shadows and voices coming from the dark. "Can we go there?"

"You can't leave already!" the shadow argued, sounding distressed even as its form weaved and shook. "You don't know what's there. Some shadows have been there so long, their anger... It-"

"Calm down," muttered Harry, wide eyed. A little shaken at the amount of emotion the shadow was showing. "Its alright if you want to stay here, linger in my memories. I can't stay in dreams forever. I don't know why you called me here in the first place but I can't stay."

"You're going to leave me alone?" the shadow shrieked. It seemed to shudder then a hand darted forward to grasp Harry's hand. "I won't let you leave!"

Harry gasped. "Let go of me!"

The shadow morphed then. Harry stepped back in horror as the shadow took the form of a giant _werewolf_, teeth gleaming and dripping with blood. "_Stay here with me. Forever._"

_RAYN!_


	11. The Horcrux and the Veela

**_Chapter 11_**  
**The Horcrux and the Veela**

Hermione was seating on chair beside the hospital bed. Ron was leaning against the wall by a small window on the far side of the room. There was a person on the bed, still and pale.

Harry's hand hovered over the form on the bed, pushing back dark strands of hair and rubbing gently at the scarred forehead. He smiled thinly, trailing his fingers down an arm until they came in contact with Hermione's hand. He regarded her form silently.

She was leaning forward in her chair, elbows on the edge of the bed as she grasped the comatose boy's hand in hers. Her face was red and blotchy, puffy from recent crying. Ron was no better. His face was expressionless, his freckles seemed to stand out against his pale face. His hair was up and in disarray, his clothes wrinkled from obvious overuse.

Harry leaned back, away from Hermione as she sat up and looked around in confusion. She dropped the hand in hers and flexed her fingers, staring at her hand in wonder. Harry reached forward and grasped her hand once more, smiling when Hermione jumped in her seat, eyes wide.

"I'm here, 'Mione," he whispered. "Please see me. _I don't want to forget_."

"Harry?" she whispered back, looking around in confused wonder. Ron startled, stretching and moving to her side. He watched her grasping at the air like a lunatic for a while before taking her hand in his and petting her hair gently. "I felt him. He's here, Ron. Harry's here."

"Of course he is, silly," Ron replied, nodding at the figure on the bed. "He's been here for a while. Remember?"

"I felt, his presence, Ron," she argued. "I know I did."

"Is it still here?"

Hermione closed her eyes, concentrating on finding the feeling she'd lost mere moments before but could not. "Not anymore."

* * *

"You can't hide forever, Harry," the werewolf rumbled, its massive form taking up almost the entire hallway, seeming to have grown bigger every time Harry caught sight of it. The memories that had once littered the hallways of Dream Hogwarts were now gone, now part of the werewolf who drew everything into itself and whose edges blurred. "Don't you understand? I'm part of you."

Harry knew it spoke the truth now, though he had tried to deny it vehemently in the beginning. The werewolf, shadow, or whatever it was, was only able to blend in to its surroundings because it _was_ part of its surroundings. Blending into the shadows without any effort.

He was running out of room to run, Harry realized. The darkened corridor was his last refugee, were his most important memories lay. The shadows in the corridor pulled and pushed at him in one direction and he allowed them to surround him in their efforts to conceal him.

There was a ground shaking roar from the entrance to the corridor. "Get off me you annoying little remnants!"

Harry huddled against a corner, covering his head with his arms and closing his eyes tightly.

"You stupid little memories!" the werewolf was roaring. "Fine. Keep him there, then. It serves my purpose as well."

Harry heard the sound of its stomping footsteps fade away as the werewolf left. He let out a sobbing gasp and the shadows drew closer, comforting him with their warm presences. One in particular nudged at him and Harry smiled as he listened to his Mother's voice singing.

_ Golden slumber kiss your eyes,  
Smiles await you when you rise.  
Sleep, pretty baby,  
Do not cry,  
And I will sing you a lullaby._

* * *

"_Poor little lamb_," Harry whispered, eyes glowing red.

Adonis backed away warily.

"_All alone in the wolf's lair_," Harry continued, then began to laugh. "_Obdormio_." Twinkling red eyes watched as the boy toppled over instantly."_How charming_." With a toothy grin, Harry took a deep breath. "_Time to awaken, that which lies in the Chamber_."

* * *

Helga was in near hysterics and she didn't calm down even when told that Adonis was merely sleeping. She sat by the boy's bedside, running her shaking hands through his hair.

Albus Dumbledore made sure she would be all right before drawing the curtains about the bed. Turning to the rest of the staff of Hogwarts, "It appears the Chamber of Secrets has indeed, been opened."

This statement was met with horrified gasps throughout the Hospital Wing.

"What do we do?" asked Helena Cross, Divination's teacher. She looked ready to storm down there, herself, and take care of the problem. "Do we know who opened the Chamber, Albus?"

The man could only shake his head. He'd had his eyes set on Tom Riddle opening the Chamber, but how wrong he had been. The young man had been one of the students in the Great Hall when Adonis' body had been found by the caretaker and he had been there since supper was served.

Adonis' body itself had been found on the third floor corridor, near the entrance to Harry's rooms. There had been a piece of parchment glued to his forehead, "_This little lamb is spared. The next one is not so lucky_." A small arrow had pointed to the other side of the parchment, which read: "_In fact, his skeleton will lie in the Chamber forever. Ironic, isn't it?_"

"We don't even know what _lies_ in the Chamber!" Herbert Beery, Herbology teacher, sputtered, looking as though he would faint at a moment's notice. "We must wait for the Ministry!"

"We can't simply wait for the Ministry!" Galatea argued, her withered face set in a determined expression. "A young boy has been taken into the Chamber! We must act _NOW_!"

"Everyone-" Albus began.

"Have you lost your mind!" Herbert shrieked, his arms flailing about. "You all go down there if you must, but leave me out of it!"

"Be brave for once in your life, man!" Helena cried, shaking him.

"Please-" Albus began again.

"Do not touch me, you silly little girl!" Herbert shouted back, smacking at her arms.

"SILENCE!" Octavius roared suddenly. He turned his fury on Herbert, who squeaked and hunched back. "I don't care what you think you pathetic excuse for a wizard! You stay here if you must. But I'm not about to let-"

"_Stupefy_!"

"_ALBUS!_" Helena cried, smacking him in the arm.

"I'm sorry, dear girl. But we can't allow him to wander off in that state! Aron would most certainly murder us all!" Albus said.

As another argument began, nobody noticed Helga slip past them and out of the Hospital Wing, face set in a grim yet determined expression.

* * *

"What!" Leo demanded.

"They're still arguing in the hospital wing!" Helga cried. "For all we know, Harry's already dead-"

"Don't say that!" said Leo, covering his ears and screwing his eyes shut tightly. Vincent was quick to draw him into his arms, tucking the red head against him and making soothing noises.

"We can't wait here for the Ministry or for the teachers to do something!" Runako said suddenly. "Only... _we don't know where the Chamber is_!"

Seeing that everyone was beginning to panic, Tom stood, "I know where it is."

Faces swiveled around to stare at him in shock once his words penetrated their panicked minds.

Before anyone could demand to know _just how he knew_, Rudo stepped forward, "Then what are we waiting for? If we're going to do something, we'd best do it _now_."

"Yes," Leo exclaimed, drawing away from the comfort of Vincent's arms. He threw Tom an unreadable look, "You really know where it is?"

"I do," Tom replied.

"Do you know what's _in_ the Chamber?" asked Helga.

"It's a basilisk," said Tom, after what seemed like an eternity to the panicked youths. Tom rubbed at his temples and with a sigh, "If it's been awakened, I might be able to divert it's attention since I can speak Parseltongue." A few raised eyebrows and wide eyed looks. "But we should prepare for the worst, just in case."

"Glasses!" cried Romulus. "There's no way to prevent it from looking into our eyes directly, since we need to see where we're going. But if worse comes to worst, we'll only be petrified!"

"_Only_ petrified?" whispered Myrtle, horrified.

"We're studying Mandrakes in Herbology," Helga said. "The most important ingredient of the Mandrake Restorative Draught, which cures those petrified or paralyzed."

"All right, so we know we'll be cured if we get petrified!" Romulus exclaimed in excitement, his attempts to cheer up the group fell short, however.

"It would have to be some type of mirrored glass, that we can see through but will prevent it's stare from hitting us dead on," Helga was saying thoughtfully.

"Kind of like Foe-Glass?" wondered Leo.

"That's perfect!" muttered Helga. "That should also tell us if there are enemies nearby!" She looked about at everyone. "Anyone have a Foe-Glass?"

"There's one in the headmaster's office," replied Vincent cautiously. The others looked about at each other.

* * *

The world had grown silent.

Harry drew away from the shadows, walking back up the darkened corridor cautiously. The shadows followed at his heels, ready to defend him if anything should happen. One in particular was overly bright and stood out amongst the others. Harry had already come to the conclusion that _this_ was Rayn's veela, it was the only explanation. The form, because it couldn't be called a 'shadow', had that same presence as Rayn.

There was nothing beyond the corridor, only a vast darkness. Harry bit his lip, a sob in his throat. "He stole all my memories."

Rayn's veela drew close around him, offering him silent comfort.

Suddenly the world burst into flame, Harry cried out as pain erupted throughout his body. There were voices shouting all around him.

_"Protego!_"

"_Crucio!_"

"_Expelliarmus!_"

He was breathing, Harry realized. The world was dark, his eyes were closed.

_"Stupefy!_"

Someone was laughing. _"Silly little lambs. All lined up for the slaughter! CRUCIO!_"

Harry whimpered, attempting to open his eyes.

_"That's right, my pretty. Feed on them,_" a voice hissed.

_"No!_" a similar voice shouted. _"They are not to be harmed. Obey me!_"

_Food. Blood. Let me kill. Kill._

Harry's managed to open up his eyes enough to be able to see what was going on in front of him. He was unable to believe what he was seeing.

The familiar looming form of the Basilisk was in front of him, facing a familiar group of people. Tom was hissing at the creature, ordering it to back off while someone laughed from somewhere behind Harry, hissing at it to go ahead and attack them.

The Basilisk slithered back and forth, seeming confused as to what to do. Harry could only see a few of them; Tom, Leo, Vincent, Runako, and was that _Myrtle?_

Tom glanced at him, then, and his eyes widened at seeing him looking back. The Basilisk took his hesitance as a sign to attack, it launched forward and Harry watched horrified as it's teeth-

"_HELGA_!"

Then everyone was screaming, throwing spell after spell at the Basilisk. While someone behind Harry continued to laugh. Harry could only watch as Helga fell to the ground, clutching the large bleeding wound now decorating her torso. Her form twitched for only a few seconds before finally going still.

"_Fiendfyre_!" Tom shouted in fury. There was a roaring, billowing noise before flames begun to erupt from Tom's wand. The Basilisk was consumed by the billowing snake-shaped flame that erupted from the firestorm.

"_Oh, you wish to destroy me with that do you?_" someone hissed. Harry was shocked when whoever had been standing behind him suddenly stepped forward, towards the flames which seemed to be reaching the ceiling. It was Tom, Harry knew it was Tom. An older, more refined looking Tom with pale snake-like skin and glowing red eyes. What Voldemort would have looked like the night he murdered Harry's parents. The night he accidentally made Harry into a Horcrux, Harry realized. "_If you destroy me, you'll kill our lovely little Harry Potter, as well. Oh, didn't you know? As darling Harry has probably already figured out, he's our most _precious_ Horcrux._"

Tom, the young one, was beginning to sweat beneath the heat of the flames and looked to be struggling to remain in control.

_"Don't worry about it, little me. Or, don't tell me. Do you really_ care_ for him?_" The Horcrux laughed maniacally. "_Oh, the irony. So much irony this day. Do you see this Harry? He's taken your place! Does that make you the young Weasley girl, then?_" The snake-shaped flame suddenly took the form of a large, _huge_ dragon and advanced on the ever smiling Horcrux. "_Go ahead. Destroy me. You can say good bye to your little Harry as well. Because if I die, then so does he!_"

Tom shot Harry a glance, before suddenly canceling his spell and falling to his knees, panting heavily as the flames died away.

"_That's what I thought_," the Horcrux hissed happily. "_Such a shame._"

_Get up, Harry. Take this._

Harry blinked tiredly, there was a sword embedded in the ground before him. He blinked again. Was that... _Gryffindor's sword!_

_You know what to do, Harry._

He continued to stare at the gleaming sword.

_It'll be all right, Harry. I promise._

The Horcrux was still hissing at Tom, who was being propped up between Rudo and Romulus while the others were gathered around Helga's unmoving form. Harry's vision blurred as he looked at her still form and, gathering every ounce of strength left in his body, he struggled to stand up. He managed to stand up on two wobbly legs and pulled the sword from the ground with an audible ringing sound that drew the attention of the Horcrux and everyone else.

The Horcrux chuckled. "_Still standing, Harry? You don't disappoint._" It noticed the sword clutched in his hand then, aimed upwards toward himself, and the smile fell off. "_Ever the self-sacrificing-_" He lunged forward but Harry was faster, bringing the sword up and through his own chest with a pained gasp.

"HARRY!"

The Horcrux screamed as a hole appeared in his chest, growing bigger as Harry pushed the sword to the hilt before falling to his knees. His eyes were locked on Tom's horrified gaze, not even paying attention as the Horcrux exploded.

_It's okay, Harry. Close your eyes and rest, now. Thank you for taking care of me._

Harry welcomed the darkness that came. The last image he saw of his friends running towards him even as he fell.


	12. An Echo of Silence

**_Chapter Twelve_**  
**An Echo of Silence**

There were two beds at the far end of the Hospital Wing that were constantly surrounded by people. A body lay upon each bed, one male and the other female, both pale and unmoving.

Helga, who had been bitten by the Basilisk and should have died in the Chamber, continued to breathe. It was absolutely remarkable that she was alive, but it did not look good for her. The Basilisk venom was already beginning to seep through the bandages that the mediwitch had managed to wrap around the bleeding wound. The venom appeared deadly even to those who simply touched it, as evidenced by the burns that both Runako and Raven now sported on their arms.

Harry, on the other hand, had been labeled as a lost cause. With what had been identified as Godric Gryffindor's sword still embedded in his chest, he appeared dead- not breathing- yet his heart still beat. The mediwitch had declared that the magic of the sword was the only thing keeping Harry alive. The blade itself could not be removed, not only because they had all vehemently protested, but also because it simply refused to budge.

There was nothing that could be done for either of them. It was certainly shocking that both were still alive.

Professor Dumbledore, ever his meddling old self, had pulled each of them aside to question them about the events that had transpired in the Chamber. As much as _most _of them respected the man, they were not about to reveal everything to him. Because though the man had correctly surmised that it had been Tom to show them the entrance and to lead them into the Chamber, he did not need to know about the other things.

Like what the Horcrux had said, or about the Horcrux at all, and certainly not that the Horcrux had been a serpentine replica of Tom. Never mind that most of them didn't have the slightest clue as to what a Horcrux actually was.

He knew it was childish of him, but Tom couldn't help but inwardly gloat at the man's predicament. Dumbledore looked more and more frustrated after speaking to the others. He'd give up eventually, he'd have no choice in the matter. It wasn't as though he could force them to tell him the truth, though he probably knew they told him naught but lies.

Tom was startled out of his thoughts when someone elbowed him sharply on the side.

"You aren't eating," said Antonin uncaring.

With a sigh Tom shifted away from the boy's bony elbows. Antonin had a bad habit of hitting innocent bystanders with them.

"Leave him be, Dolohov," Walburga growled. She was sitting before them, her head down, not wanting to risk looking up and catching Tom's eye. He'd been in a volatile mood since that new transfer student and the Weasley girl Adonis fancied had been admitted to the Hospital Wing.

Antonin rolled his eyes. "You had better not be worrying about that-"

Tom reached under the table and grasped Antonin's thigh in a painful grip. "About what, Dolohov?"

The boy grunted and shifted away quickly. Ignoring Melin and Reeve's glares as he encroached on their personal space.

"Tom!" Walburga hissed, she remembered too late not to look him in the eye and had to cringe back at the anger she saw in them. He raised an eyebrow at her. "We _are _your friends."

The boy continued to stare at her unerringly. "Friends, Walburga, are for Gryffindors. _Remember your place_."

"I agree," mumbled Adonis, his already pale face looking even paler under the lights of the Great Hall. "But Gryffindors can have Slytherin friends."

"That makes no sense," stated Orion Black, after a moment of confused silence. His beautifully elfin face twisted into a deceptively sweet smile as he looked at his eldest brother from beneath his eyelashes. "Perhaps you need sleep, brother."

Adonis eyed his plate blankly. "It made sense to me."

The others were silent as they avoided looking at him. Not only were they embarrassed by his disheveled appearance, they also felt very out of depth and awkward in the face of his... _emotions_.

Tom subconsciously agreed though. Gryffindors had the very awful habit of making friends, even with Slytherins. Before Harry had come along to throw everything out of balance, it had been something that he had desperately detested.

Somehow, Harry was different. Tom had known from the moment he had first gazed into those impossibly green eyes that Harry was going to change things. Harry, who did not belong to one house but all of them, yet was so obviously owned by the Gryffindors. He managed to befriend Slytherins regardless, with an ease and charisma that he didn't even know he possessed.

It was no shock that he even managed to charm and befriend Adonis and Helga, with their aloofness even to other Slytherins. Tom, himself, could never manage to get along with Adonis, who often acted too much like a Gryffindor.

Harry's mere presence sent ripples throughout Slytherin House, throwing them all off balance, and if there was one thing Slytherins didn't like; it was instability. There was an order to how things were run in Slytherin House and an outsider simply appearing and disappearing as he wished was not welcome.

Rudo had never been one to let others dictate how he'd live his life, especially not a group of snobby teenagers who were certainly far beneath him. Antonin and Walburga's plan of separating Rudo from Tom had worked, but not in their favor. Rudo never even bothered to pretend to follow the "rules", but he was still well-respected among the Slytherins. He was the epitome of Slytherin pride. He was rich, handsome, intelligent, and athletic. He wasn't overeager like Adonis, preferring to remain calm and collected, though he did have a very odd sense of humor.

In the end, Rudo didn't lose anything from separating himself from Tom's "group". He would have been upset if he had lost his friends, but it wasn't as though he couldn't make more. Indeed, it had been amusing to see the Slytherins so off balance, especially when Helga and Adonis remained with him.

Tom was intelligent enough to know that alienating the two would make things worse, so Rudo had been _pardoned_. As if he'd needed their pardon in the first place. No, Rudo _knew_, he knew Tom wanted to know more about Harry. Like all things he couldn't comprehend, Tom needed to either destroy the problem or research it until he knew everything about it. Tom wouldn't harm Harry, of that much Rudo was certain. He had seen the furious expression on Tom's face the day Harry had dislocated his nose. That anger was not for Harry, it had been directed at Walburga, and she knew it too if her behavior was anything to go by.

Things within Slytherin House were changing. It was so obvious that even Runako, who wouldn't notice if his pants were on fire, had noticed. That had been nice, too. Runako had been painfully adorable in his shy concern for Rudo, masking his concern with anger at his behavior towards Rayn.

It was more obvious now, though. With the way Tom's eyes glazed as he stared off into space, ignoring the many attempts by the other Slytherins to speak with him. Antonin's passive aggressive anger at his behavior showing in the glares he furtively threw at him.

Odd, though.

Rudo had chosen to seat himself by Adonis, who was obviously distraught, to offer some form of comradery because he was awful at offering sympathy. Reeve had followed, then Melin who had become constantly attached to Reeve as of late. As usual, Cordelia had chosen to sit with them rather than her ever gossiping circle of friends. Also because she wanted to offer her own form of sympathy, being Helga's best friend.

Tom had chosen to sit on Adonis' other side, though that had been the arrangement for a while before Harry came. Orion had ditched his obsessive little stalker- cousin- in order to squeeze between Rudo and Adonis. The boy was creepy, but he deeply adored his eldest brother, as much as he detested Runako.

To Rudo's disgust, Walburga and Antonin had decided to intrude on the moment, Antonin had pushed Reeve and Melin further down the table and taken their place beside Tom. While Walburga had sat next to Cordelia on the other side of the table, ignoring the dark skinned girl's glare.

Instead of offering comfort to the grieving Adonis, Rudo had spent the time sending angry vibes down the table at Antonin, who reciprocated.

The whole affair had been awkward and intensely nerve wrecking for everyone in the close vicinity.

"That was uncomfortable," Rudo mumbled, once dinner was over. He was accompanying Adonis to the Hospital Wing, where the older boy spent most of his time nowadays. " Don, perhaps you should get some sleep. We really don't need you passing out from exhaustion at this point."

"I'll rest later," said Adonis quietly, none of his usual vigor showing. He was truly a depressing sight. "I just want to see how she is."

Rudo pursed his lips and said nothing. There was nothing he could say. Never mind that he had acted pretty much the same way when Runako had had his panic attack.

* * *

Harry's rooms were disturbingly quiet when Tom entered. The room had remained unmoving and unhelpful, none of the usual magic showing. Vincent had been grateful that the room wasn't throwing books at them, at least.

But it was not a peaceful silence at all. Harry echoed in the room. Harry standing at the window, watching Quidditch practice from afar. Harry sitting in his armchair, a book on his lap and a bar of chocolate in his mouth. Harry laying on the floor with paper frogs hopping about him.

Tom closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing the images away. A strange clicking sound startled him and he quickly withdrew his wand, tensing when a small shadowy form scurried out from under Harry's armchair. The Acromantula stared at him with its beady little eyes, as though it recognized him. Tom didn't put away his wand, but relaxed his stance.

The Acromantula, whose name he couldn't remember, made a few questioning clicking noises at him. Tom was understandably shocked when the thing spoke, it was garbled but unmistakable. "_Harry_?"

"Er," Tom blinked at it, resisting the urge to reach up and rub at his eyes like an idiot. "Harry is in the Hospital Wing."

The Acromantula continued to stare at him and Tom could almost feel the confusion pouring out of it. It then scurried across the room quickly, chanting "_Harry_" over and over again. Tom almost felt sorry for it.

He ignored it in favor of doing what he came to do. He had hoped the magical library would help him search for what a Horcrux was, but he couldn't do that now.

He didn't know why he attempted to be silent as he entered the bedroom, almost afraid to disturb the quietness of the rooms. The bedroom was a mess. The blankets were on the floor, the bedside table had been overturned, and there were papers about everywhere. He'd have thought it was just Harry's nature to be messy, if he hadn't been in the bedroom before.

He wasn't sure what he was looking for, if anything at all. Perhaps he just needed to check for himself. At times he still felt as though everything that had happened had been a dream, that Harry and Helga were all right.

It was unbelievable. He had planned, since he had found the entrance to the Chamber he had planned. He had spoken to the Basilisk, planned to use the Basilisk, and in the end he had killed it himself. He didn't regret killing it, no. It was hard to feel sorry or to regret its loss in the face of the attack on Harry. Strange how much Harry mattered, how much his presence changed things.

Something white caught his eye and he approached the desk. He gently picked up the pieces of the card he had made for Harry. His lip thinned and he shifted uncomfortably, resisting the urge to rub at his chest where he had felt a strange stab of pain. He muttered a quick "_reparo_!" and grabbed a stray quill. He paused, his hand hovering over the inside of the card, poised to write. But what could he say? Would Harry ever wake up again? Would he read whatever message Tom wrote in the card?

He wanted to write, though. He wanted Harry to know. _I want to protect you. Want to know everything about you. You confuse me, intrigue me, drive me mad. You're the only one who truly sees me. You are only mine._

The quill remained unmoving and he finally dropped it. Dropping himself into the desk chair and burying his face in his trembling hands.

When Harry had first appeared, Tom had felt an odd connection to him. It had led him to continuously try to lash out against Harry, wanting so badly to sever that connection, whatever it was. Of course nothing worked. So he had decided to try and befriend him, draw him in, learn all his secrets. That didn't work either. Harry was stubborn.

The connection was no longer there. It had vanished- snapped- the moment Harry had plunged that sword through his own chest. It had hurt. It was as though he had lost a part of himself. He wanted that part back. He wanted Harry back.

"_Harry_?"

Tom was startled out of his thoughts as something began pulling at his pant legs. It was the Acromantula, its beady little eyes staring at Tom again.

"What is it?" he asked stupidly.

"_Harry_!" it chirped, doing a small hop and pulling at his pants again. "_Harry_!"

With a groan Tom stood, hesitating before bending to pick up the creature, holding it at arms length. It wiggled in the air, making a sharp whining noise that continued until Tom realized it was crying.

"All right! All right!" he cried desperately, holding it against his chest and patting it awkwardly on the back. "I suppose you want to go see Harry."

"Do you do this often?" a soft voice asked.

Tom's gaze snapped up and he froze upon recognizing Adonis standing in the doorway. The older teen was leaning against the doorway, an amused glint in his eyes that had been absent since seeing Helga's state.

The Acromantula wriggled insistently in Tom's grip. "_Ooon_!" With one last wriggle, it managed to free itself from Tom's arms and jumped, landing in a heap on the floor. It quickly shook itself not unlike a dog and made a dash for Adonis, who bent down to gather it into his arms.

"Looks like you made a new friend, Aragog," Adonis said softly.

"_Friend_!" the creature chirped. "_Harry_!"

Adonis chuckled. "Yes, let's go see Harry." He didn't say anything else to Tom, instead turning about and leaving the boy standing in the middle of the room.

Tom sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. There was nothing to do but accompany Adonis and Aragog to the Hospital Wing, it wasn't as though he wouldn't end up there eventually anyway. They all did.

He froze momentarily. An unusual sensation washing over him. Unusual but familiar.

"Harry?"

* * *

Aragog was happy. It was easy to tell with the wiggling feet and the random chirping, like a baby bird.

Adonis was not happy. But that did not matter at the moment. Aragog had been alone, forgotten, until Adonis had finally remembered him. Harry would certainly not be happy if anything happened to Aragog.

"_Oon_!" Aragog chirped, gazing at him with his shiny _dark _little eyes.

"We have to be quiet, all right?" Adonis said quietly. He had waited until only Leoned and Vincent remained in the Hospital Wing. Unsure if anyone else knew about Aragog.

"_Shh_," Aragog hissed quietly.

It brought a smile to Adonis' face.

Leoned smiled at them as they joined him by Harry's bedside, Vincent asleep in the chair beside him. He looked a little green and had evidently been crying again. Not that Adonis blamed him, particularly if one considered his condition and everything he'd been through. Adonis knew Leoned blamed himself, the Basilisk had aimed for him, after all. And though Adonis was angry that Helga had decided to throw away her life to save Leoned, he didn't blame her either. Helga had more Gryffindor in her than she realized.

Adonis was careful as he placed Aragog on the bed beside the boy's unmoving form. The Acromantula made questioning clicking noises at Gryffindor's sword before ignoring it in favor of snuggling against Harry's side.

They allowed him to doze off. It would be a while before the others made their way to the Hospital Wing again.

The peace didn't last long before Tom was barging into the room, out of breath and looking around in a panic.

"Riddle?" Vincent wondered dazedly, having been woken by the sound of the doors being slammed open.

"Tom?" said Leoned, shocked at the boy's unusual behavior.

"Harry," Tom managed to gasp.

Aragog abruptly jumped up and off the bed, clicking furiously as he sped across the room to hide underneath another bed. Just as Harry gave a sudden gasp and the bed beneath him burst into flames.

"HARRY!" they all cried simultaneously. Leoned attempted an "_aguamenti_" but it failed to even touch the raging fire.

There was a low whistling sound before the bed beneath Helga suddenly erupted into flames as well. Vincent pulled Leoned back quickly, wide eyes staring at the fire before them.

The two fires suddenly connected in the middle of the room, swirling about in a strange dance.

"Is that-?" Vincent gasped.

"It's a _phoenix_," breathed Leo.

* * *

.

* * *

_**As a special gift, here's a little bonus side story.**_

* * *

**A Tale of Two Brothers**

Vincent Potter remembered when he saw Leoned for the first time. That small, willowy boy with the ferocious red hair, the large amethyst eyes, and the determined gait.

The red head had stood next to a dark haired, gray eyed boy who was obviously a Black. Both were waving at Adonis, which was the reason he'd noticed them in the first place.

When the red head's name was finally called, he walked up those steps in an oddly elegant way. His back straight, his head held high, and when he sat... It was something about the way he held himself that drew the eye.

That he was sorted into Gryffindor was no shock. The shock had been Runako Black, Adonis' little brother, being sorted into Gryffindor. Though Leoned seemed distant and untouchable, like a beautiful porcelain doll, he was actually a very sweet person. He was also quite brilliant and learned new things frighteningly quick.

Vincent couldn't deny that he had felt unusually intimidated by the younger boy. They didn't interact much except for the odd moments when they ran into each other, seeing how they were both in different years.

That summer he was invited to spend a weekend at Adonis' home for his birthday. Though the two of them often fought over things and became even more competitive at Hogwarts, they still remained somewhat friends. It was hard not to be friends with Adonis, in reality he was much too charming to hate and he knew it well. It was very frustrating sometimes.

Leoned was Adonis and Runako's cousin and had been invited as well. Along with a sly boy named Romulus and more of Adonis' friends, whose names he never bothered to remember.

It was his first proper meeting with Leoned, without one or both of them rushing off in the opposite direction. Though Leo only rushed because he worried he'd be late. Vincent rushed because it was very awkward being around the red head for extended periods of time, and also because it was embarrassing how much he stammered in his presence.

When he wasn't being so intense, Leoned was surprisingly easy to get along with. He was good looking, smart, witty, and easy going. He knew all of Adonis' friends by name and seemed to get along quite well with them. It wasn't very surprising though, Leoned's mother- though disowned- was still a Black, and Blacks tended to congregate in groups with other well known Pureblood families.

The Potters, on the other hand, though Purebloods, had never been interested in such things. So neither was he. As such he wasn't well acquainted with other Pureblood families, though he knew who they were.

After that summer the two of them grew close and began keeping in contact throughout the summer. They had much in common; love of Quidditch, love of chocolate, and- strangely enough- love of books.

His parents constantly teased him about having a "little girlfriend" and often asked him to invite her over so they could meet her. He never did and not only because Leoned wasn't a girl.

The truth was, he wanted to keep Leoned to himself for as long as he could.

They had their first kiss during Vincent's fifth year. The next year they began making plans for their future, already knowing that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.

It was in December of 1942, Leoned's sixth year and Vincent's seventh when many things began to change. Leoned was pregnant.

It was so mind boggling and sudden. Most definitely sudden. Too sudden.

Even so it was exhilarating and, once he got over the shock, it was wonderful.

Until he decided to tell his parents and finally introduce Leoned to them.

"So what happened?" asked Harry, eyes wide and shining in anticipation.

Vincent smiled, it was amusing how much Harry resembled Leoned.

"Well, they told us _the truth_," continued Vincent after a heavy sigh. "Leoned was the product of Father's affair with Leoned's mother. Not long after I was born."

Harry's eyes grew impossibly wide, unable to believe just how terribly messed up his family was.

"Not that it mattered. Not only because Leo was already pregnant," Vincent smiled, as he always did when thinking about Leo and his condition. "But I wasn't going to leave him. Never will."

Harry blinked at him. "Why does Leo go by Potter then? And everyone knows him as your brother..."

"Oh, Father thought claiming Leo as his own publicly would tear us apart."

"It didn't."

"No, it did not. Many Pureblood families marry within the family, especially the Blacks. So no one was very shocked."

Harry was confused. "But Leo said there was a scandal."

"Well, there were two scandals. The first being that Father had an affair, which is not looked upon kindly by Pureblood families. The second being pregnancy outside of marriage, but that was mostly overlooked."

"Overlooked how?"

"Well, Leo was pregnant. Leo _is _male-"

"So men getting pregnant isn't common?" demanded Harry.

Vincent scratched the back of his head. From the bathroom there was the sound of the toilet being flushed and then running water. "You're better off reading about the subject. But Harry, you're not even comfortable with your _own_ preferences. So don't even worry about it."

Harry blushed hotly.

The two of them turned as Leo finally exited the bathroom, no longer green in the face though he was now abnormally pale. He froze upon catching sight of Vincent and threw a look at Harry, who stared back with wide eyes.

Vincent took the opportunity to step forward and pull Leo towards the fireplace. Being sure to keep a tight arm about Leo's waist, ignoring the red head's long suffering expression. Even ignoring Harry's shout of joy when they finally stepped through the floo.

He couldn't hold back the chuckle though. It really _was _amusing how alike Leo and Harry were.


	13. Final Note

All righty guys, this time it's for real. I've given up this fic to someone else. Last time I said someone was going to adopt this fic, that person vanished off the face of the planet or something. So I was a little pissed off and ignored everything concerning it for a while. Now I'm just too busy with life and work. From now on, if you PM or leave a review on this fic here, it will go to her email address. If you want to get in touch with _me_, you can email me at **ceraphyn at gmail dot com** although I'll warn you that I hardly ever check that email anymore (I only use another email but that's for work, sorry guys).

I've given her ALL my notes and boy did that take like a month or two (I had A LOT of notes). She's rewriting the entire fic so it's more her style and makes more sense. I've liked what I read so far, if you don't please don't take it out on her. Please be as nice with her as you've been with me, it's not her fault I'm saddling her with crappy fic (my opinion). She's also working on her own fics, so her updates may be sporadic, and she only just got back from an out of town emergency. You can PM this account and the messages will go to her. So if you want to ask her when she'll get around to uploading the story, go ahead.

She refuses to get an account here on FF and I don't blame her (there's way too much stuff now). You can find her at AO3 and her pseud is Liliume. If you saw that I'd changed my name on this account, it was because I was going to give it to her but she said "hell no!"** archiveofourown dot org /users/Liliume**

So that's it for me. Thanks again for all the support everyone! :) Remember to remove spaces and replace at with the (a) for email and dot with an actual dot.


	14. READ THIS CAREFULLY

This is the new author speaking, I go by Liliume online, and I'm here to tell you all that the first chapter of the rewrite of this story is now up on AO3. Links are in the profile of this account. I keep getting people asking me when I'm going to post the rewrite on this here website. The answer is NEVER. I am not going to repost the rewrite of this story here, **IT IS ALREADY BEING UPLOADED TO AO3**. If you don't know what AO3 is, that's fine, because the **LINK IS IN THE PROFILE OF THIS ACCOUNT**. The story is now called "Charming the Serpent".

One more time. **THE LINK TO THE STORY IS IN THE PROFILE OF THIS ACCOUNT**. Thank you!


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